
Class J. 

Book 

Copyright^. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 
IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



BY 



FKANK MITCHELL LEAVITT 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OP INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION 
THE UNIVERSITY OP CHICAGO 

AND 

EDITH BROWN 

INSTRUCTOR IN PREVOCATIONAL DEPARTMENT 

ALBERT G. LANE TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 




HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 

(£&e fftiuer?toe pre&* Cambridge 



vO o4 f 



COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY FRANK M. LEAVITT AND EDITH BROWN 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



VL\it fciberssibe S&tt&i 

CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
U . S . A 



OCT II 1915 

*>CU411908 

ho. 



PREFACE 

During the past five years considerable interest has 
been developed in the problem of securing a better ad- 
justment of our educational methods and ideals to the 
needs of those who, though they form the vast majority 
of our children, are, for one reason or another, deriving 
the least benefit from the present school system, and 
are leaving its care altogether before reaching the age 
of sixteen or seventeen years. 

Such school systems as have done experimental work 
looking to the solution of this problem are constantly 
receiving requests for information relating to the pur- 
pose of the work, the methods which are being em- 
ployed, and the results realized or expected. 

It is believed that school administrators and school- 
teachers in general will find something of interest and 
value in the information presented in this volume re- 
garding one important branch of this experimental 
work, namely pre vocational education. 

For the purpose of collecting and of organizing such 
information the University of Chicago has conducted, 
during the past three years, an experimental industrial 
class. Instruction both in shopwork and in the book 
subjects has been given very largely by graduate stu- 
dents in the Department of Education, mature men 
and women sincerely interested in the larger aspects 
of the problem presented. 

The Albert G. Lane Technical High School of Chicago 
includes among its many departments one of special 



iv PREFACE 

interest, consisting of so-called prevocational classes 
and providing for over-aged boys from grades six, seven, 
and eight of the elementary schools. 

The authors of this book, having access as they do 
to the resources of these two institutions, have been 
enabled to collect and to organize the material pre- 
sented herewith. They have also studied the prevo- 
cational work in other cities by personal inspection of 
the schools and by examination of their courses of study. 
It is believed that the facts presented will be valuable 
not only to instructors of prevocational classes, but as 
well to teachers in those elementary schools where no 
special provisions are made for the pupils who are fail- 
ing in the usual school work, or who are apparently 
hopelessly behind grade or are certainly out of har- 
mony with the aims and methods of so-called "general 
education." Since prevocational work is almost inva- 
riably given for the benefit of such children, doubt- 
less 1 many teachers in the elementary schools will be 
glad to learn of some of the concrete material which 
the special schools are utilizing in teaching the regular 
school subjects; as, for example, reading, history, civics, 
hygiene, elementary science, arithmetic, shopwork, and 
drawing. 

It is the purpose of this book to present in detail some 
of the school subjects, setting forth the methods which 
have been found to be measurably successful, the ob- 
jects which have been paramount in presenting the 
subjects, some of the concrete material which has been 
used, and references to sources of other similar ma- 
terial. 

This presentation of concrete material will be pre- 
ceded by a discussion of the need of prevocational work 



PREFACE V 

as an essential part of the American public school sys- 
tem, and of the present development of the movement. 

The discussion deals largely with the work which has 
been developed for boys. It is believed, however, that 
the principles apply also in the field of girls' work, and 
it is hoped that this somewhat neglected side may re- 
ceive some stimulus from this presentation. 

Grateful acknowledgment is made of valuable assist- 
ance received from various sources. Members of the 
Graduate Department of the University of Chicago 
have cooperated in collecting suitable material for 
courses of study and in presenting such material experi- 
mentally to the industrial classes. Prominent among 
these graduate students are Miss Miriam Besley, Miss 
L. Grace Huff, Mr. L. A. P. Harms and Mr. L. V. Koos. 

Thanks are due the following school officials for pre- 
paring, especially for this volume, detailed information 
regarding the prevocational work in their several cities : 
Mr. John C. Brodhead, Associate Director of Manual 
Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; Mr. Ben W. Johnson, 
Director of Industrial Education, Seattle, Washington; 
Mr. J. C. Wright, Director of Vocational and Manual 
Training Instruction, Kansas City, Missouri; Miss Ethel 
M. Lovell, Prevocational School, Louisville, Kentucky 
(now Principal of the Sewing Trades School, Cincinnati, 
Ohio) ; and Mr. Charles F. Perry, Supervisor of Indus- 
trial Education, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Especial acknowledgment is made of the generous 
spirit of cooperation shown by the Principal of the Albert 
G. Lane Technical High School, Chicago, Mr. William 
J. Bogan, whose sympathy and courage have made pos- 
sible the remarkable exemplification of prevocational 
work to be found in that institution. 



CONTENTS 

I. The Nature and Purpose of Prevocational 

Education 1 

II. Prevocational Education a Natural Develop- 
ment of the School System .... 13 

III. Vocational Education a Local Question . 25 

IV. The Inauguration of Prevocational Classes . 36 

V. Personal Characteristics of Prevocational 

Boys 58 

VI. Appropriate Subject-Matter for Prevoca- 
tional Classes 70 

VII. Physiology and Hygiene 83 

VIII. History 104 

IX. Science , 136 

X. English 147 

XI. Mathematics 173 

XII. Shopwork and Drawing 193 

In Conclusion 234 

Index 243 



PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN 
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

CHAPTER I 

THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF PREVOCATIONAL 
EDUCATION 

The genuine public and professional interest in voca- 
tional education, which has developed such proportions 
during the past decade, has resulted in many modifica- 
tions of, and additions to, public-school functions and 
practices. Perhaps none of these is more far-reaching in 
its import than the development of prevocational work 
and all that it represents in our public-school systems. 

Several cities have developed prevocational work, 
and, while such work varies in organization and con- 
tent, a common purpose and similar methods are found 
in all these examples. The term "prevocational" has 
been employed in this book in the commonly accepted 
meaning which these cities give it, but it is desirable, 
at the outset, to discuss in a general way the meaning 
of this term; the purpose of establishing such work; and 
the more important characteristics of the pupils to 
whom the work is given. 

That the term " prevocational" needs some explana- 
tion is evidenced by the fact that it is used in so many 
different ways. In common with the names affixed to 
many other plans of action, the term does not fully 
and accurately describe the procedure which it serves to 



2 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

denominate. It is impossible to find a name which will 
accurately describe or define the characteristics of the 
school work which is now being done under the term in 
question, but the characteristics themselves will be re- 
vealed throughout this volume. It is desirable in this 
connection, however, to trace the evolution of the word 
during the five or six years of its existence, in order to 
determine what the term really denotes. 

A clear understanding of the term may be gained by 
reflecting on the nature of a pre-legal or a pre-medical 
course as offered in a university. Such courses are in- 
tended to be as cultural as any other college work, but 
they are intended to give the kind of cultural training 
which will furnish the best foundation for the subse- 
quent legal or medical course. Such courses are made up 
of regular college subjects so grouped that they will ful- 
fill all academic requirements for a degree. It is not 
contemplated that any important subdivision of human 
knowledge included in the degree course — as, for ex- 
ample, history — shall be omitted entirely, but it is sug- 
gested that certain subjects be emphasized more than 
others, and especially that intelligent selection of ma- 
terial be made from the many possibilities afforded by 
the different required subjects. Here is recognition of 
the fact that of two subjects which are equally cultural, 
one may have more practical value than the other for 
certain individuals. 

In the same way prevocational work is intended to 
be as cultural and as inspirational as any of the regular 
school work for the children to whom it is given, but it 
is more valuable than the regular work as a preparation 
for the subsequent occupational experiences of these 
children, most of whom enter "vocations" at an early 



NATURE AND PURPOSE 3 

age, and it is a better and more attractive preparation 
for the vocational courses higher up than is the regular 
course for which it is substituted. 

It is necessary, at this point, to note the modern 
educational significance of the term "vocational edu- 
cation." While it is evident that professional educa- 
tion is "vocational education," the word "vocational," 
as it is commonly used, refers to the education which 
prepares somewhat specifically for the humbler occupa- 
tions, those which require a preparation of less than 
college grade, and which, therefore, are not reached by 
way of the university. The first occupations for which 
this humbler or non-professional vocational training 
was given were industrial in their nature. For this rea- 
son "industrial education" was the term first used to 
designate all kinds of practical education for those who 
could not have or did not want a professional training, 
but who, nevertheless, needed a purposeful prepara- 
tion for the work which they would be called upon to 
do. The term " vocational education" came into prom- 
inence only after the term "industrial education" was 
seen to be too narrow to cover all the school activities 
conducted under that name. 

Thus "vocational education" refers to educational 
programs which contemplate school training of less than 
college grade, and which relate to the humbler voca- 
tions or occupations. Such training is, furthermore, in- 
tended for pupils fourteen years of age or over. 

With this conception of the meaning of the term 
"vocational," it becomes clear that " pre vocational" 
simply means the type of general education which will 
lay a better foundation for vocational courses than is 
commonly laid by the regular school work. 



4 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

It is sometimes urged that the term "pre vocational' ' 
is misleading and likely to deceive the public, since it 
carries the suggestion of specific preparation for a 
vocation when, in reality, it does not necessarily give 
such preparation. To this objection it should be said 
that the training given is preparatory for vocational 
education rather than for a vocation itself. It cannot 
be denied successfully that the traditional work of the 
elementary school is preparatory for a higher school 
which, in its turn, is preparatory for a still higher 
education. To the pre vocational type of child, the 
practical application of it all seems to be postponed 
indefinitely. The prevocational course, therefore, seeks 
to prepare for final vocational courses which reveal 
clearly their immediate articulation with the work of 
the world. Consequently the prevocational course gives, 
in a very genuine sense, quite as definite a preparation 
for vocational life as its name would seem to imply. 

While the term has sometimes been loosely used and 
has been made to apply to widely different courses of 
study, there can be no doubt that in recent years it 
has come to have a commonly accepted place in educa- 
tional nomenclature. The work which is done under this 
name in a number of the large cities makes it evident 
that a prevocational course is an attempt to modify 
the work commonly found in grades seven and eight, 
or possibly six, seven, and eight, in order to motivate 
that work for those pupils who have been seriously re- 
tarded and are hopelessly behind grade because they 
need the stimulation which comes from concrete doing, 
or because of pronounced irregularity in attendance 
resulting from peculiar home conditions or from illness. 
While these pupils vary in their characteristics, they 



NATURE AND PURPOSE 5 

are alike in this, that they are predisposed to leave 
school at an early age. Again, while they are thus dis- 
posed for a variety of reasons, one reason is practically 
common to all, namely, a distaste for school work as 
they know it, and a consequent inclination to substi- 
tute vocational for educational life. Pre vocational work, 
therefore, has come to have a clearly defined purpose, 
namely, to secure an adjustment of the "system" to 
these vocationally minded pupils. They need the funda- 
mental book subjects as much as the others, and if the 
"bookish" way of teaching does not make its appeal 
strongly to them, the problem is to vitalize such work 
by devising other methods and by accepting different, 
though not necessarily lower, standards of attainment 
than those by which school work is usually measured. 
The prevocational course, therefore, may appear to 
be only a modified form of general education, and it 
may be asked why it should not be so designated and 
be recommended for adoption for all elementary school 
pupils. The reply is that it is not necessary to make 
such substitution for work which has been conducted 
so successfully with thousands upon thousands of chil- 
dren. It is neither desirable nor necessary to relinquish 
traditional practices which are contributing so surely to 
the progress of many school children, but it is quite 
another matter to urge the adoption of different courses 
and new methods for that considerable group of chil- 
dren who do not succeed with the traditional work. The 
prevocational experiments, however, have important 
lessons for the traditional schools, and, since retarded 
children are to be found in nearly all elementary schools, 
grade teachers everywhere will be benefited greatly by 
studying the methods of prevocational education. 



6 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Whether these retarded children of thirteen to fifteen 
years of age are in the grades or in special prevocational 
classes, it is not so important that they learn certain 
prescribed facts as it is that they gain a desire to learn 
something. What that something is does not matter 
so much in the beginning as that more attention be 
given to developing pronounced individual differences. 
It is not necessary that all become interested in the 
same studies, but it is fundamentally important that 
each becomes intellectually active, — vitally and dy- 
namically interested in some school work, — so much 
interested that the whole scheme of education takes on 
a new meaning and becomes a genuine pleasure. 

In a certain prevocational class the boys attended 
school during the whole summer, seven and one half 
hours daily. Some of the parents expressed a doubt as 
to whether the work could be really valuable, because 
the boys liked it so much. It must be confessed that 
many teachers hold the opinion that school work should 
be filled with hard, unpleasant drudgery if it is to be 
truly educational, a belief which is evidently shared 
by children of the prevocational type and one which 
has led most of them to decide that school is to be 
avoided and attendance to be discontinued as early as 
possible. It would be interesting to speculate upon the 
effect of this belief upon American education. 

It is amusing — or it would be if it were not so serious 
— how many teachers to-day believe that the greatest 
intellectual benefit comes to the pupil from the work 
which he finds most disagreeable, but which, neverthe- 
less, he prosecutes with great diligence and from a sense 
of duty. Much of the high-school Latin and mathe- 
matics has been justified for most pupils and held to 



NATURE AND PURPOSE 7 

be all but indispensable to their education, on the 
ground that, because of its difficulty, it exacts a type 
and intensity of intellectual effort sure to be of great 
benefit in developing the mental powers of the pupils 
wholly regardless of its practical or utilitarian value. 
That much of the work could not reveal its true worth 
and beauty until many years of diligent study had been 
given to it was considered to enhance the educational 
value of the effort expended upon it. 

Because boys of the prevocational type are predis- 
posed to seek early employment, such pedagogical 
motives for "getting an education" are discarded, and 
an attempt is made to utilize the incentives common to 
the workaday world. There is no reliance on the pre- 
posterous proposition that an education will enable 
one to earn his living without laborious work, but 
rather there is an attempt to show the necessity for 
hard work and especially the rewards and the satisfac- 
tions which it brings. 

Most of the world's knowledge has been acquired 
through the unremitting, painstaking efforts of patient, 
energetic, steadfast souls, working toward some goal, 
which, for one reason or another, assumed an interest 
greater than all else to that particular individual. Mere 
toil has done much for the world, especially when car- 
ried on under wise leadership, but toil inspired by an 
ideal, until toil itself becomes a joy, has worked the 
world's wonders and brought its blessings. 

Educational literature reveals many attempts to 
improve pedagogical methods through the appeal to 
direct, immediate interest in work as well as in study, 
yet even down to our own times the rod has generally 
been the emblem of the schoolmaster and compulsion 



8 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

has been his method. Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Froe- 
bel have all preached the doctrine of joy in educational 
effort of all kinds, but our methods of study and reci- 
tation, of rewards and punishments, of the selection of 
the "fit" and the elimination of the "slow" and "stu- 
pid," have remained strangely stationary amid the 
change of subject-matter, schoolroom surroundings, 
and student body. There seems to have been little cre- 
dence given to the opinion that "the world is to be 
saved by the laughter of the school children." 

Within the past ten years, however, there has come 
a considerable change in this matter so far as it relates 
to the pupils whom we are considering in this volume — 
the pre vocational type. 

These children, usually found stranded or progress- 
ing but slowly in the upper elementary grades, have 
been unwilling or unable to apply themselves, and have 
resisted the attempts of others to drive them to the 
lifeless task of reading and memorizing a mass of lit- 
erary material which some one else assures them will 
do them great ultimate good, but which, so far as they 
can see, is unrelated to anything in their own lives past, 
present, or to come. They have finally rebelled, or 
have acquired a refractory exterior which effectually 
protects them against the persuasions of their long- 
suffering teachers. 

Now, these children, for their own benefit and for 
the sake of society, must be "educated." How shall 
it be accomplished? If being "educated" means "suc- 
cessfully completing a required course of study" and 
in a given way and at a given time, the task is well- 
nigh hopeless and may as well be abandoned, as long 
experience has evidenced. But if it can be conceded 



NATURE AND PURPOSE 9 

that education may come from action and from think- 
ing about that action with the view of determining sub- 
sequent procedure, and if it be acknowledged that such 
thinking may be rationalized by what others have done 
and thought before, then we have the basis for a new 
educational program. 

Prevocational children are permitted to do things 
peculiarly adapted to their individual fitness, and to 
think, talk, write, and figure about the things which 
they have done. Action may be widely varied; think- 
ing about a certain action may impel to more of the 
same thing or to a great range of similar or related ac- 
tivity, and both may be radically affected by reading 
about what mankind has done along this line and re- 
lated lines. It is in this relation that the study of books 
becomes effective for prevocational children. It is use- 
less to try to educate these or any other children with- 
out liberal use of books. In fact, the most important 
part of the prevocational course is what is usually 
referred to as "the related academic work," and the 
most important part of the program consists in mo- 
tivating this book work by correlating it with some 
concrete, constructive work with a vocational content 
which the children genuinely enjoy and at which they 
will work vigorously. 

Most of that which has been written about "joy in 
work" has referred to some kind of laborious, manual 
work. It should be remembered that, for many indi- 
viduals, intellectual work is laborious and that it is 
quite necessary to find some way of making it joyous, 
— in other words, of "motivating education." Indeed 
the worker in every field of human endeavor, even the 
highest, needs the stimulus which comes from joy in 



10 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

anticipated achievement that he may despise and en- 
dure the stress and strain "for the joy that is set before 
him." The new educational program provides for the 
bringing together in actual realization the necessity 
for hard work and the joy in its accomplishment. 

This is a program which has proved highly effective 
in stimulating the children in prevocational classes, 
for while it can be said truly that such pupils are 
"concrete-minded," "seriously retarded," or "anti- 
book," they have two characteristics even more pro- 
nounced than these. First, they are physically active, 
and secondly, they are strongly individualistic and can 
never be grouped successfully under any narrowly limit- 
ing classifications. Above all they must not be con- 
sidered "stupid" because they are behind their fellows 
in grade, and only rarely have they been found to be 
"subnormal." May it not be, after all, that our school 
system appeals in the main to one rather commonplace 
type of mind, albeit a type which is wholly praise- 
worthy and of immense value to society in that it can 
be counted upon to react in a particular way to any 
given set of conditions or experiences, and that the 
boys of whom we are speaking, being active and strongly 
individualistic, are nevertheless quite as normal, even 
more interesting and possibly of even greater potential 
value to society at large if their energies are directed 
into the proper channels? It is our purpose in a later 
chapter to set forth as vividly as may be the charming, 
lovable, human characteristics of prevocational boys 
in such a way as to show that no reasonable effort on 
the part of society to save them for years of subsequent 
training and education is too great in the light of their 
potential worth. 



NATURE AND PURPOSE 11 

From the foregoing it will be seen that the establish- 
ment of prevocational work is essentially one of the 
features of the great social movement toward universal 
education. Perhaps the final outcome of this movement 
may result in the opening of our palatial high schools 
throughout the country, not only to the small minority 
who are now receiving the benefits of the many oppor- 
tunities there afforded, but to the vast majority of boys 
and girls of high-school age, many of whom are hope- 
lessly stranded in the grades. It may be that we shall 
come to see that what we have considered our high 
standards, as regards admission to the people's high 
schools, are really evidences of the relentlessness with 
which we have excluded from the beneficent influences 
of these institutions the very children who need them 
most. When our high schools shall become thoroughly 
democratized, and when "secondary education" shall 
mean education appropriate for any and all normal 
children between twelve and eighteen years of age, it 
may well be that prevocational work will pass off the 
stage and that the term will no longer have any sig- 
nificance. For the present, however, "prevocational" 
must stand for the symbol of liberality in providing, 
either in our upper elementary grades or in our high 
schools, appropriate types of educational activities for 
all children and for a promise that such work will be 
administered in the spirit of justice and impartial sym- 
pathy. Such a procedure will be of untold benefit to 
the future industrial workers of the country and to the 
industries which their labor makes possible, and when 
we shall have ceased to prate of the dignity of labor, 
and shall have made provisions for dignifying the work- 
ers by giving them an honored place in a truly demo- 



12 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

cratic school system, we shall have done much more than 
advance the industrial interests of the United States. 
We shall have helped to make our schools, what they 
can never be under the conditions which obtain very 
largely to-day, dynamic agencies for social betterment. 



CHAPTER II 

PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION A NATURAL DEVEL- 
OPMENT OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM 

In view of the fact that the vocational education 
movement is but a phase of the progress of the nation 
toward universal education, it is important to consider 
certain recurrent questions relating to education in 
general, questions which never have been, perhaps 
never can be, permanently answered. Due considera- 
tion of these questions is indispensable to a compre- 
hension of the real significance of the development of 
vocational and prevocational work in the history of 
American education. 

The more important and pertinent of these recurrent 
questions are: To whom shall education be given? Who 
shall give the education? Why shall it be given? Of 
what shall it consist? 

One who thinks deeply regarding these questions 
will be convinced that the subject is a complicated one. 
Little by little it will appear that there are two conflict- 
ing points of view. The first is that the individual is to 
be educated for his own benefit; the second, that he is 
to be educated for the benefit of society. 

Comenius was perhaps the first of modern educators 
to state, as he did, about 1630, the principle of parental 
responsibility for the education of the child. It would 
seem natural that education resulting from such re- 
sponsibility would have in mind chiefly the well-being 



14 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

of the individual. It might, and under some conditions 
actually does, so equip the individual that he can get 
more than his share of the good things of life. 

But another principle has been advanced, namely, 
the responsibility of the State. The State is held some- 
what responsible both for furnishing the education and 
for requiring the individual to submit himself to the 
process of being educated. 

Another fact must be noted at this point. There is 
to-day, and always has been, a difference of opinion as 
to just what experiences, educational and occupational, 
for youths between twelve and eighteen, will be to the 
best ultimate advantage of the individual. It happens, 
therefore, that the position and progress of the youth 
between twelve and eighteen are the resultant of two 
forces, one tending to hold him in school, the other tend- 
ing to draw him into occupational life. 

Each of these forces is complex and deserves at least 
a brief analysis. 

Among the most important influences tending to 
hold the individual in school until his eighteenth or 
twentieth year may be mentioned the following : — 

Tradition in this country confers a certain distinc- 
tion on those people who have had extended connection 
with educational institutions. The professional man, 
or even the college graduate just because he is a college 
graduate, is looked upon as in a sense superior to, or 
distinguished from, all others. 

Then there are various and genuine personal advan- 
tages which come with traditional education. These 
advantages are comprehensible to, and highly prized by, 
the true educator. In proportion as he is impressed 
with the value of personal culture and literary learning, 



A NATURAL DEVELOPMENT 15 

he sincerely desires it for all those who come under his 
care, and he conscientiously and persistently influences 
all his pupils to secure this prolonged period of school- 
ing. 

Another factor which must be reckoned with is that 
the school affords an asylum for those youths who are 
disinclined to take up the real burdens of the work of 
the world, and also for those parents who, being too 
busy to decide for themselves the best means of educat- 
ing their children, hand them over to the care of some 
educational institution as the easiest way, whether that 
institution is equipped to develop the particular indi- 
vidual or not. 

In opposition to these influences are to be noted cer- 
tain others which tend to draw children or youths away 
from school. There is a constant demand on the part 
of industry for the labor of children and young people. 
Part of this demand comes from the desire to secure 
labor at a cost which is less than its real value, and part 
of it arises because certain industrial processes can be 
learned more readily by children than by adults. 

Then there is a genuine need that some children con- 
tribute to their own support as early in life as possible. 
Under the present economic system it is not probable 
that all children can be maintained in idleness until 
eighteen years of age without charity or a considerable 
extension of socialistic ideals. 

Again there are types of young people who respond 
much more quickly to the educational opportunities of 
real work than to the stimuli of school conditions and 
requirements. While there are educators who extol the 
training which comes through work, and while many 
attempts have been made to secure these advantages 



16 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

for the school curriculum, the general lack of concrete 
work in the schools drives many youths early into occu- 
pations. 

As noted above, we have here two groups of forces 
which are determining the amount of school training 
which each individual receives. 

Society is coming to see that there are certain dan- 
gers which will arise, if the second group of influences 
becomes too strong. It is futile to continue to turn a 
stream of child workers into occupations which are 
paying adults less than a living wage, thus necessitat- 
ing the consignment of their children to industry at the 
earliest possible age. 

Even some of our far-sighted employers believe that 
the future of industry stands in doubt if we are contin- 
ually to recruit its ranks only from those consigned to 
it by poverty, inexperience, and lack of personal ini- 
tiative. Instead society must see to it that at least a 
saving minority shall enter industry because they choose 
to do so, and then enter it only when properly equipped 
to cope with the difficulties presented by our complex 
industrial system, difficulties technical, social, and 
personal. 

The phenomenon which we call the demand for in- 
dustrial education is a sincere attempt to hold true the 
balance between the two groups of forces described 
above, and this result will be obtained most effectively 
where industrial training is given in close proximity to 
other types of school work. 

Let us make no mistake. No education has ever been 
given which has not contained elements of both gen- 
eral and specific training, of both liberal and vocational 
education. Even the most specialized form of indus- 



A NATURAL DEVELOPMENT 17 

trial training has invariably carried with it some gen- 
eral, intellectual development. Work given as "indus- 
trial education" which leaves the worker with the same 
mental equipment he possessed at the beginning can- 
not be classified as "education" at all. In other words, 
industrial education has always given a considerable 
degree of general training. Its tendency, therefore, is 
to ally itself with the group of influences which holds 
the youth in school. To the question, " Shall this youth 
be educated ? " the promoter of industrial education 
answers, "Yes." 

What is industrial training and how has it grown to 
its present status as a factor in education? By what 
means may it be still further developed? Is a natural 
growth or a forced growth more likely to produce a 
type of training which is consistent with our democratic 
institutions and directly beneficial to those for whom 
the work is being projected? These are questions which 
demand the most careful study. 

What is industrial training? As a basis for discussion 
let it be defined simply as "education for the industrial 
worker." Enlarging somewhat upon this definition we 
should say that the education must be appropriate for 
the industrial worker; complete as far as it is carried, — 
that is, it must include all features, technical, general, 
inspirational, recreational; and that it must be dy- 
namic, impelling the learner to desire more and more. 

For centuries it was not thought necessary to "edu- 
cate" industrial workers, or at least certain grades of 
industrial workers, except in so far as they were trained 
by and for their daily occupations. Even in New Eng- 
land, in earliest colonial days, the required schooling 
had no reference to the* learner's economic status, but 



18 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

merely was intended to enable him to read the Bible and 
understand the common law of the land. 

It was not until it became a matter of general knowl- 
edge and of social concern that the industrial workers 
were not being educated, in any sense of the word, that 
the demand arose for "industrial education." 

It was natural, therefore, that the initial steps to- 
ward industrial education should have been taken in a 
community where the industrial workers formed a large 
and important part of the population. Industrial devel- 
opment and density of population are generally co- 
existent. In fact, density of population may well be 
taken as evidence of industrial development and of the 
presence of masses of industrial workers. 

Relatively few people who have drawn lessons in 
industrial education from the experiences of the State 
of Massachusetts have realized that the State is one of 
the most densely populated regions in the world. Bar- 
ring Rhode Island, which is practically all urban, Mas- 
sachusetts is the most densely populated State in the 
nation. Compared with Indiana, one of the States which 
has based its industrial education laws on those of 
Massachusetts, we find 419 inhabitants to the square 
mile in Massachusetts as against 75 in Indiana. These 
figures are taken from the federal census of 1910, but 
the industrialism of the State is of long standing and 
has had much to do with the development of educational 
methods and ideals in that commonwealth. 

In fact, in the light of our simple definition, we might 
say that the first "industrial education" law was passed 
in 1852 when Massachusetts put upon her statute 
books the first compulsory school attendance laws in 
the United States. 



A NATURAL DEVELOPMENT 19 

Why may this be called an "industrial education" 
law? It came after a prolonged period of industrial 
expansion. In 1820 there were engaged in manufacture 
in Massachusetts 33,464 people; this number had in- 
creased to 85,176 by 1840. This development had 
brought about not only increased opportunities for 
children to work, thereby drawing them away from the 
schools, but it also had brought to the State a new class 
of children whose parents were willing and anxious to 
have them work because their own training, or lack of 
it, had not been such as to make them appreciate the 
value of an education. In other words, the force of 
educational tradition was not strong with them. 

By the year 1852 it had become clear that all such 
children must be forced into school. Thus we see that, if 
we accept our definition, industrial education is merely 
a phase of society's progress toward universal edu- 
cation. 

Let us now come a step nearer the present. Whatever 
may be true about the rest of the country, Massachu- 
setts thought she was providing a more appropriate 
education for her industrial workers when she first per- 
mitted the introduction of manual training in 1884 and 
later required it in all cities of 20,000 inhabitants or 
over. In the report of a school board of that State in 
1878 we read: — 

The question of teaching trades in our schools is one of vital 
importance. If New England would maintain her place as the 
great industrial center of the country, she must become to the 
United States what France is to the rest of Europe, the first in 
taste, the first in design, the first in skilled workmanship. She 
must accustom her children from early youth to the use of 
tools, and give them a thorough training in the mechanic 
arts. 



20 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

True, this statement makes no mention of the general 
education of the workers, but this was already assumed 
since the work was to be given to the children "early" 
and in the regular schools. 

All are familiar with what happened to manual train- 
ing in Massachusetts, and in other States, although 
some seem to overlook certain important facts in the 
discussion of the manual-training question to-day. The 
work, in spite of severe educational opposition, was 
sparingly introduced into those schools or grades which 
were rarely reached by the industrial workers for whose 
benefit manual training was originally intended. No 
wonder it "failed," as some profess to believe. 

After all, just what was the failure? Principally the 
failure to give the work to the right boys. That is, it 
was introduced so high up in the "system" that it was 
out of reach of the future industrial workers. But this 
was quite natural, after all, this offering of choice things 
to those at or near the top, for in this respect industrial 
training is no exception to the general order. We all 
know that nearly every good thing which has been added 
to the curriculum has been introduced at the top of our 
educational system and has gradually percolated to the 
bottom until, eventually, the whole system has been 
modified by it. This, then, we may describe as the 
" natural" growth not only of industrial training, but 
of every phase of popular education. 

Let us see whether there was a reasonable possibility 
that this process of percolation would have resulted 
finally in accomplishing the original purpose of indus- 
trial education. 

To examine this question, let us come down to the 
time of the report of the Douglas Commission on In- 



A NATURAL DEVELOPMENT 21 

dustrial and Technical Education in 1906. This report 
made no reference to manual training except to declare 
that it was academically useless. It recommended the 
separate industrial school uncontaminated by the in- 
fluences of school-teachers or regular boards of educa- 
tion. The latter requirement was soon dropped, how- 
ever, and to-day there are few, if any, special industrial 
boards. 

The City of Boston never organized its industrial 
education under a separate board. Its case is illustra- 
tive of the " natural' ' development of industrial edu- 
cation, and shows that industrial training would ulti- 
mately have worked down to the pupils who needed it. 

Prior to the report of the Douglas Commission, the 
School Committee of the City of Boston had passed 
a rule, the purpose of which was to give over-aged chil- 
dren in the lower grades an opportunity of receiving the 
instruction in manual training usually reserved for 
the later years. Individuals might be admitted to the 
upper-grade manual-training classes, or special sections 
of such boys might be organized. Although little atten- 
tion was paid to this rule at the time, it serves to indi- 
cate the tendency to carry manual or industrial training 
down to the people who needed it. 

In the same year that the Douglas Commission made 
its report, the Boston School Committee established 
the first special class for boys who were "industrially 
inclined." Classes of this type are now called "prevo- 
cational," and have been established in eight different 
elementary districts. These "pre vocational centers" 
are considered a part of the regular school system, are 
a development of the manual-arts department, and are 
supported from the regular school fund. 



22 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Operating under the special law which gives state aid 
to industrial education, if separately organized, Boston 
is maintaining the Trade School for Girls, the Evening 
Industrial School, and the Industrial School for Boys. 
The latter institution, the one most recently estab- 
lished, may well be taken as illustrative of the typical, 
state-aided, " separate industrial school/' and so be 
used for purposes of comparison with the prevoca- 
tional type. 

The prevocational centers may thus be said to rep- 
resent' the natural growth, and the Industrial School 
for Boys the forced or specially stimulated growth of 
industrial education. In some respects these two types 
of schools are similar, in others somewhat different. 
In each type of school there are to be found both gen- 
eral and special instruction. A boy under fourteen may 
enter a prevocational class, but not the industrial school. 
The hours are somewhat shorter in the former than 
in the latter. The most noteworthy difference is that 
the prevocational boys do not have to leave the " sys- 
tem," and may go on to high school, if they graduate. 
The enrollment in the industrial school is 180 against 
a total enrollment in the prevocational schools of 370. 

The point of all this is that the natural growth of 
industrial training through a development of the De- 
partment of Manual Arts has, without state aid, accom- 
plished considerably more in the way of genuine in- 
dustrial training for the fourteen- to sixteen-year-old 
boys of Boston than has the special, state-aided plan. 1 

1 Obviously many things affect the enrollment of the Industrial 
School for Boys, but the influences which tended to keep it small 
unquestionably could have been met more easily under the prevo- 
cational plan. 



A NATURAL DEVELOPMENT 23 

If state aid had been given to the prevocational type 
of industrial education on the same basis as that 
afforded the industrial school (fifty per cent of the net 
maintenance cost), the number of boys reached could 
have been easily twenty-five per cent greater. This 
shows that, with proper direction and support, indus- 
trial education will eventually percolate down through 
the "system" and reach the boys for whom it was 
originally intended, and will do it more effectively than 
if organized outside the schools. Many educators are 
coming to feel that if state aid can be secured only by 
establishing a separate system of industrial schools it 
will be better to dispense with such aid and trust to 
the natural method of growth to bring this much- 
needed form of democratic education. 

The historical phases of the work in Massachusetts 
have been discussed at length because nowhere else 
can such complete development of both types of indus- 
trial education be found. The Middle West, however, 
has shown its determination to bring industrial educa- 
tion to the future industrial workers in another way. 
There has been a growing tendency to open the indus- 
trial education of the high schools to selected boys of 
fourteen to sixteen years, even though these boys have 
not completed the work of the grades. Perhaps the 
best illustration of this tendency is to be found in 
the prevocational classes in the Chicago technical high 
schools, to which frequent reference will be made. Here 
we find boys, who have not completed the work of the 
grades, engaged in some form of mechanical work ordi- 
narily given to high-school classes. They are doing this 
work and also are completing the essentials of the book 
work of the grades. In the Lane Technical High School 



24 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

alone there are 250 such boys. It should be remem- 
bered that these boys are still in the "system" and that, 
in fact, many of them become regularly enrolled mem- 
bers of the high-school classes. 

This is another most significant illustration of the 
fact that the industrial training, first reserved for high- 
school pupils, has percolated through the "system" 
and is now available for those boys who really need it 
most. This growth of industrial education has been 
possible because of its proximity to the regular school 
work, and it promises the day when the regular, public 
high schools will address themselves seriously to the 
problem of serving all the children of suitable age who 
stand in need of any kind of education. 



CHAPTER III 

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION A LOCAL QUESTION 

As shown in the preceding chapter the whole trend 
of public education indicates that prevocational work 
is sure to become an important part of the school sys- 
tem. The prominence given to other types of vocational 
work, however, serves to blind some educators to the 
necessity for prevocational work, the result of the nat- 
ural development of the industrial education move- 
ment. Because of state aid for vocational schools and 
the consequent demand for separation of vocational 
from general education, there has been kept before the 
public an agitation for separate industrial, trade, and 
continuation schools. This agitation has brought with 
it the necessity for greater accuracy and intelligence in 
the use of terms, and has led to the formulation of so- 
called definitions. These definitions have sometimes 
had a tendency to confine the movement within too 
narrow limits and to set aside as of little or no vocational 
value the whole field of prevocational work. A discus- 
sion of this controversy is pertinent to the most recent 
history of the vocational-education movement, and it 
is included in this study as being necessary to a clear 
understanding of the importance of prevocational work. 
It is essentially the study of what may be called the 
forced growth of vocational education in contradistinc- 
tion to what has been referred to as the natural growth. 
This forced growth has been brought about through 



26 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

the stimulus of direct state aid for vocational educa- 
tion. 

State aid for education is not a new thing, but state 
aid for industrial education was worked out on some- 
what new lines in Massachusetts. This would not 
interest us, as did the early educational history of Mas- 
sachusetts, were it not for the fact that the Massachu- 
setts industrial-education law is being urged as an 
example of what other States should put upon their 
statute books. In fact, it is frequently claimed that six 
or eight States have modeled their industrial education 
laws on the Massachusetts statutes. It is, therefore, 
pertinent to ask what principles guided the framers of 
the Massachusetts law. 

After a general survey of the industries and the 
schools of the State, certain principles were decided 
upon. First, that two or three rather distinct types of 
schools ought to be organized; second, that they should 
be separate from the regular schools; third, that local 
communities establishing any one of these approved 
types should receive liberal state aid therefor, but that 
no such aid should be given for vocational work in the 
regular schools, however excellent the results obtained 
therefrom might be; fourth, that any inhabitant of the 
State, if eligible for membership in a state-aided indus- 
trial school, might attend any such school in the State. 
A resident of one town might attend a school in another 
without paying tuition as is usual in such cases. It is 
clear that this points to the desirability of developing 
schools of several varieties rather than of making all 
the schools similar. Undoubtedly this whole policy was 
appropriate for Massachusetts, but it may well be 
questioned whether it is equally so for all other States, 



A LOCAL QUESTION 



27 



This brings us back again to the question of density 
of population. The following facts relating to the area 
and population of a few typical States will repay study : 

Massachusetts ranks forty-fourth in area and sixth 
in population. 

The United States in 1910 had a population of 30.9 
per square mile, the Middle Atlantic States of 193.2, 
while Massachusetts had a population of 418.7 to the 
square mile. 



State 



Population 



Area 



Inhabitants 
per sq. mile 



Massachusetts . 

Indiana 

Illinois 

New York 

Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Rhode Island . . 
Connecticut. . . . 
Washington. . . . 

Oregon 

California 

Texas 



3,366,416 

2,700,876 

5,638,591 

9,113,614 

742,371 

430,572 

355,956 

542,610 

1,114,756 

1,141,990 

672,765 

2,377,549 

3,896,542 



8,039 

36,045 

56,043 

47,654 

29,895 

9,031 

9,124 

1,067 

4,820 

66,836 

95,607 

155,652 

262,398 



418.7 

74.9 

100.6 

191.2 

24.8 

47.6 

39.0 

508.5 

231.2 

17.0 

7.0 

15.2 

14.8 



The table shows that Massachusetts has an indus- 
trial-education problem quite different from that, for 
example, of Indiana. It shows that Illinois is in the 
Indiana class rather than the Massachusetts class. Even 
New York is sparsely settled as compared to Massa- 
chusetts. If we ask why Massachusetts rather than 
some other New England State passed the first indus- 
trial-education law, the table answers us. Of course 
Rhode Island is in a class by itself, being largely 
urban. 

Referring again to the Massachusetts policy of es- 
tablishing different kinds of schools in different cities 



28 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

and permitting the transfer of pupils, we should note 
that there are in Massachusetts twenty-five towns of 
25,000 inhabitants or over, while Indiana has but five 
towns of that class. The total population of these 
towns is almost two thirds that of the State. If equally 
spaced, in Massachusetts these towns would be but 
eighteen miles apart from center to center. In Indiana 
the towns in the same class, if evenly spaced, would be 
eighty-five miles apart. These figures may not seem 
important, but in a very genuine sense they indicate 
that the laws of the two States ought not to be essen- 
tially the same, but rather that they should be framed 
in each State to suit the actual geographical and eco- 
nomic conditions of the Commonwealth. 

This belief is forced upon one when it is seen how the 
regulations, with their hard-and-fast definitions relat- 
ing to the maintenance of these separate industrial 
schools, — regulations entirely appropriate for Massa- 
chusetts, — work themselves out in the sparsely set- 
tled State. Indeed the matter of "definitions" is one 
which has a direct bearing on the recent development 
of vocational education for the following reasons: — 

First, these so-called definitions are commonly not 
definitions at all, but are only "constructions" to be 
put upon certain words as used in a given law. 

Second, statements which were made to facilitate 
the working of the law in one State should not be urged 
upon the country as a whole for the purpose of determin- 
ing what direction the industrial-education movement 
ought to take. 

Third, when used to determine, in advance, what 
form and direction industrial education ought to take 
in a given situation, it is more likely to deter than to 



A LOCAL QUESTION 29 

stimulate action, unless these "definitions" have been 
made to suit actual conditions, as determined by in- 
vestigation, and have been preceded by intelligent 
experimentation, as in Massachusetts. 

As illustrative of the first point it may be noted that 
the Massachusetts law provides : — 

Independent, industrial, agricultural or household-arts 
school shall mean an organization of courses, pupils, and teach- 
ers, under a distinctive management approved by the Board 
of Education, designed to give either industrial, agricultural, 
or household-arts education as herein defined. 

The law then must further define, for example, house- 
hold-arts education. It does so as follows: — 

Independent household-arts school shall mean a vocational 
school designed to develop on a vocational basis the capacity 
for household work, such as cooking, household service and 
other occupations in the household. 

The Board of Education is justified in holding any 
school up to the fulfillment of all these requirements 
before granting state aid. This, however, is not a defini- 
tion of household-arts education, and no one is justified 
in saying that a given school in some California city is 
not a household-arts school because it differs radically 
from the Massachusetts type in "organization of 
courses, pupils, and teachers " and because it is not put 
under a "distinctive management." 

The second point mentioned above is the undesira- 
bility of attempting to predetermine, by exact defini- 
tions, the future development of industrial education 
in all parts of the country. We recognize the need of 
clear understanding of the terms used to describe the 
different types of schools, especially where state aid is 
concerned, but we maintain that definitions should 



30 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

follow, rather than precede, the creation of the type in 
question. To reverse the order is to endanger the pres- 
ent interest in experimentation. 

Progressive educators in all parts of the country have 
heard the demand that our school work be brought into 
more immediate and intimate relation with the common 
life. These educators have attempted to meet the new 
demand far more energetically than is commonly ap- 
preciated, and their experiments have been varied and 
purposeful. It is to be hoped that nothing in the way 
of exact definitions may serve to convince them that 
such experimentation is no longer needed, or that other 
and even better ways of meeting the new demand may 
not be forthcoming as the result of such educational 
activity. 

Referring to the third point, namely, that when 
definition precedes experimentation it is likely to defer 
action, an example from Indiana may be cited. The 
Indiana law is interpreted by the State Board of Edu- 
cation, and the interpretation sometimes proves to be 
more restrictive than the law itself. This, we believe, 
is due to the fact that both the law and the interpre- 
tation are based, not on experimentation in the State, 
but on the Massachusetts statute. The law states: — 

"Evening class" in industrial, agricultural, or domestic- 
science school or department shall mean a class giving such 
training as can be taken by persons already employed during 
the working day, and which in order to be called "vocational" 
must in its instruction deal with the subject-matter of the day 
employment and be so carried on as to relate to the day em- 
ployment; but evening classes in domestic science relating to 
the home shall be open to all women over seventeen who are 
employed in any capacity during the day. 

The State Board of Education says that the control- 



A LOCAL QUESTION 31 

ling purpose of an evening class in a state-aided voca- 
tional school must be 

to fit the worker for more profitable employment in the occu- 
pation in which he is actually engaged. An evening school 
which provides instruction for wage-earners, designed to teach 
them another more remunerative occupation or trade or one 
permitting a higher degree of skill is not eligible for state aid. 

The law provides that 

"Industrial education" shall mean that form of vocational 
education which fits for the trades, crafts and wage-earning 
pursuits, including the occupation of girls and women carried 
on in stores, workshops, and other establishments. 

Also that 

" Industrial, agricultural or domestic-science school or depart- 
ment" shall mean an organization of courses, pupils, and 
teachers designed to give either industrial, agricultural or 
domestic-science education as herein defined, under a separate 
director or head. 

Interpreting this law the State Board of Education 

says : — 

In these schools a close relation must be maintained between 
theory and practice. There will be no general departments of 
arts or sciences, no systematic work in mathematics or draw- 
ing. . . . This being the final professional school for the in- 
dustrial worker, the pupils' attendance at the school should 
be cut as short as may be consistent with a thorough training 
for the occupation or trade to be learned. . . . The shop work 
must be conducted on a productive or commercial basis. . . . 

It should be clear that these conditions cannot be 
found except in a few isolated cases and that the needs 
of the great mass of industrial workers cannot be met 
under these severe restrictions. It is not strange that 
communities, at first enthusiastic over the prospects of 
establishing an industrial school or class, finally give up 
in despair, and, being refused state aid for things which 



32 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

they need, decide that no action is desirable at the 
time. As claimed above, the law, or its interpretation, 
acts as a deterrent to the "natural" growth of indus- 
trial education. 

The formulation of exact definitions of the several 
types of vocational education would never have been 
given such prominence had not the demand for a sep- 
aration of cultural and vocational courses been brought 
into the discussion so persistently. We contend that 
complete separation between vocational and general 
education is both unnecessary and undesirable. While 
recognizing the fact that, for purposes of theoretical 
analysis, such separation is imperative and is conducive 
to clear thinking and definiteness of aim, in practice the 
two are rarely to be so clearly distinguished. Further- 
more, the combination of these two elements is both 
natural and inevitable. The difference in result between 
a vocational and non- vocational class or subject is often 
merely a matter of emphasis. In actual practice there 
never has been an industrial school which did not give 
work which contributed both to the pupil's general 
equipment and to his special vocational training. The 
two are never found apart, but always in combination, 
sometimes one predominating and sometimes the other, 
but neither ever wholly wanting. 

So one is almost inclined to ask whether, if state aid 
is to be had only at the cost of dividing or separating 
the two necessary parts of the whole, — culture and 
economic efficiency, — it might not be better to forego 
state aid altogether and to find some other way to stim- 
ulate the growth of this new form of popular education 
of which society stands so much in need. In other words, 
may it not be better to find some way of hastening and 



A LOCAL QUESTION 33 

strengthening the movement in education which we 
have already discussed, and which we have called the 
"natural" growth of industrial education? 

The "more excellent way" is to convince educators, 
by every available means, of the great educational and 
vocational need of the unprogressive pupils in the upper 
elementary and lower high-school grades. The work 
already done in prevocational and general industrial 
classes for such children has demonstrated beyond a 
doubt that these children are not necessarily less able 
to get an education or less worthy of being educated, 
but frequently are merely strongly individualistic and 
lacking in power of adjustment to the present system. 

When the excellent and lovable personal character- 
istics of these pupils have once become apparent to the 
students of education, and when society shall have 
demanded that our schools address themselves to the 
peculiar educational problems presented by these in- 
dividuals, there can be no question of the ability of 
American educators to find a solution of all the edu- 
cational problems which their cases present. 

As above noted, educators have already made much 
more progress toward the ultimate solution of these 
problems than is generally believed. There is every 
indication that with all the intelligent and sympathetic 
study which is now being given to the subject the pub- 
lic schools will rapidly adjust themselves to meet this 
new social and educational demand. 

While urging the regeneration and amplification of 
the regular public-school system, we should not over- 
look the great value of the excellent work which has 
been done and which will continue to be done by the 
newer types of schools separately organized or main- 



84 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

tained for giving various forms of vocational educa- 
tion. ' 

One of the most far-reaching effects of such separate 
schools or systems will be found in their reflex action 
on the public-school system as a whole. Perhaps we 
need, for example, such excellent demonstrations of a 
state-wide campaign for the education of the fifty per 
cent as is to be found in the continuation schools of 
Wisconsin. A close study of these schools will demon- 
strate more and more clearly the particulars in which 
the regular school system has failed and will thereby 
indicate lines along which it must strengthen its work. 
For example, in her continuation schools Wisconsin is 
giving to the children between fourteen and sixteen 
years of age, the vast majority of whom have been 
"eliminated" from the public schools before graduating 
from the elementary grades, the manual training and 
simplified academic work which these pupils should 
have had two years before. Wisconsin is doing well to 
supply such instruction to these children now, but the 
State will eventually come to see that such work as is 
now being done in the continuation schools must be 
done in the grades, leaving the continuation schools 
free to do a much larger and more extended work than 
is possible while the regular school system remains as 
it is to-day. 

The Wisconsin continuation schools have taught us 
nothing regarding the methods of educating these chil- 
dren between fourteen and sixteen that had not been 
demonstrated with absolute certainty by prevocational 
schools in other places, which schools, as was shown in 
the previous chapter, were the logical and natural 
outgrowth of the regular school system. The Wisconsin 



A LOCAL QUESTION 35 

plan, however, has done a great service to the cause of 
education by collecting in one group, or at least by- 
bringing under one general management, several thou- 
sands of these retarded and eliminated children in such 
a way that an intensive study may be made of their 
needs, capacities, and possibilities. 

Further study will undoubtedly show that all at- 
tempts to establish schools for these children between 
fourteen and sixteen, whether within or outside of the 
regular school system, are, as previously stated, but 
phases of the gradual progress which society is making 
toward universal education. To be educated, — that 
is the desired end, — and this is the means by which a 
group, until now generally overlooked by our schools, 
is to be educated. As before shown, the education will 
be both specific and general, both vocational and cul- 
tural, but the purpose is, first, last, and always, educa- 
tion without any qualifying adjectives whatsoever. 

In conclusion, we would point out that the natural 
growth of popular education will be stimulated when 
all educators become intelligent students of the methods 
and purposes of the newly organized vocational and 
prevocational schools and classes of whatever type, and 
when they seek to inject into the present school system 
as much as may be of the vitality and directness of these 
new schools. When such study on the part of educators 
shall have become general, it is not too much to hope 
that the confidence which is born of the knowledge of 
the successful work of these new schools will speedily 
take effect in our regular school system. "Strong action 
can issue only from strong faith. Only out of certainty 
comes power." 



CHAPTER IV 

THE INAUGURATION OF PREVOCATIONAL CLASSES 

When the school authorities in any community have 
become thoroughly interested in the possibilities of 
introducing prevocational work, certain vital questions 
invariably present themselves. Do the conditions in 
the community really demand the establishment of 
prevocational classes? In what way are the pupils to 
be selected? What should be the nature of the course 
of study offered? What type or types of vocational 
work should be included? Where are the right kind of 
teachers to be found or how may they be trained? 

The foregoing questions are all fundamentally im- 
portant and are universal, but the answers to these and 
to other questions peculiarly appropriate to a particular 
community can be satisfactorily given only after a sur- 
vey has been made of the local conditions both educa- 
tional and vocational. Though the questions are essen- 
tially the same for all localities, the answers to them 
may, in fact must, differ widely in the case of different 
cities. It is the purpose of this chapter to present what 
may be called a survey of some typical community to- 
gether with suggestions as to how to meet the situation 
revealed by the facts thus ascertained. 

On visiting almost any elementary school one is sure 
to be impressed with the number of over-aged children 
in the upper grades, especially in grades six and seven. 
Two questions to which answers should be sought are, 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 87 

first, How many such children are to be found in the 
school system? Second, What explanation can be given 
of their retardation collectively and individually? 

Undoubtedly we shall find in our community certain 
cases where the lack of progress of the individual pupil 
is in no wise to be charged to the school. Illness, con- 
stant migration from school to school or from city to 
city, or much enforced absence may be given as ex- 
amples of causes for which the school is not responsible. 
One pre vocational boy writes, "I am no further along 
in school because I have went to five different schools, 
and every one that I went to they put me back a half 
a grade." In such instances it is commonly urged by the 
school management that, since it is in no way respon- 
sible for the cause of the retardation, the school should 
not be expected to remedy the difficulty or to minimize 
its baneful effect. The individual fits a certain grade, 
so far as accomplishment is concerned, therefore what 
more could be asked than that he be permitted to do 
his work in it? The fact that he is three years older and 
several inches taller than the majority of the pupils in 
the class has not been considered seriously. 

In addition to these children others are likely to be 
found who have been regularly in attendance since 
entering school at five or six years of age, but who, 
nevertheless, are two or three years behind grade. Some 
of these may be subnormal. If they are, they do not 
fall properly within the present study, but should be 
cared for by special methods now well understood. 

Among the remaining retarded pupils will be found 
some who have been "troublesome," others who are 
"slow," "uninterested," or "inattentive," — pupils 
who simply will not "apply themselves." Frequently 



38 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

no better explanation can be given by the teachers than 
those above mentioned. But whatever may be the ex- 
planation, there are far too many children who have 
no reasonable hope of completing the elementary 
grades before they have reached the termination of 
their school life even though it be extended to their six- 
teenth or seventeenth year. It is even possible to find 
principals who are willing to state that certain children 
never could complete the work of the grades even if 
they had several years in which to make the attempt. 

These pupils, together with the group first mentioned, 
are fit candidates for our prevocational class or depart- 
ment, but our information concerning them is not yet 
sufficient. What may be called a social study of the 
several individuals should be made. 

The reason for making this social survey is that we 
must recognize financial limitations and parental re- 
sponsibility and authority, and we must ascertain what 
plans the parent is making for the child's further edu- 
cation. "How much longer are you planning to send 
John to school?" may sound impertinent if the ques- 
tion is presented thus bluntly, yet it must be seen that 
the educational program of a thirteen- or fourteen-year- 
old boy ought to be radically affected by the knowledge 
that he is to be taken out of school and put to work at 
the end of the year. In most instances where such a 
social investigation is made sympathetically there will 
be found a considerable number of children of whom it 
can be stated with certainty that their school years are 
numbered and that the extent of them can be accurately 
determined by consulting the parents. 

When seriously retarded children are nearing the age 
at which they are permitted by law to go to work, and 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 39 

when their parents state that it is their intention to put 
the children to work as soon as possible, such children 
should be given pre vocational work. This should be 
done even if retardation is the result of a faulty school 
system, for remedying the system will not help these 
individuals now, and their need should plead their cause 
strongly, — a cause which demands immediate action. 

It is desirable, however, to make further inquiry into 
the peculiar organization and practices of the school in 
question. By so doing, the characteristics of the retarded 
children may be more clearly revealed, thus making it 
possible to care for the individual cases more successfully. 
It is furthermore desirable to make this inquiry in order 
to prevent the continuance of such methods as have 
resulted in the retardation of wholly normal children. 

For example, it is important to know how seriously 
the principal and teachers take the "graded system." 
Are promotions made by averages? Are pupils required 
to repeat whole grades because they have failed in one 
or two subjects? Are standings based on examinations? 
Is knowledge of certain definite facts held to be of such 
importance that failure to memorize them is considered 
a sufficient reason for repeating the grade? In other 
words, is the system held in greater respect than the 
child? Or are instances similar to the following likely to 
be found? A girl failed in a certain grade and was re- 
fused promotion. Being fourteen years of age she de- 
cided to go to work rather than to repeat the grade. She 
was given permission to sit in the advanced grade*during 
the year, and at the end of it she passed the examinations 
of both grades successfully. This incident could never 
have been reported from some schools. Would it be 
possible in our typical system? 



40 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Coupled with these investigations, the educational 
and social, there should be made also an industrial or 
vocational survey. That is to say, a careful study of the 
occupational opportunities open to these children is 
pertinent to the whole problem. There is an instance on 
record of an elementary school, situated just across the 
street from a large industrial plant, where there are no 
children above the sixth grade merely because the lure 
of the industrial occupation, with its five or six dollars 
a week, is too strong for the school interests to resist 
successfully. 

It should be noted in this connection that there is 
a considerable difference between prevocational work 
and genuine industrial education in this one particular. 
Dr. Leonard P. Ayres, of the Russell Sage Foundation, 
in his "study of certain facts concerning all of the 
thirteen-year-old boys in the public schools of seventy- 
eight American cities and the fathers of the boys," has 
shown that industrial education need not be limited 
to training for occupations offered in the immediate 
vicinity, since working-people move about considerably 
and are rarely found living in the city where they were 
educated. With prevocational work, however, the 
question is somewhat different, since it is the purpose 
of such work to modify the influence which the early 
occupational years have on the young worker, and these 
early years are almost certain to be spent in the indus- 
tries found in the vicinity of the school. Numerous 
personal investigations have revealed the truth of this 
statement, and children who have left a given school 
to go to work are almost sure to be found in an adjoin- 
ing cigar factory or textile mill or other industrial plant. 
For that reason it is highly desirable, in our vocational 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 41 

survey, to make careful note of the occupational oppor- 
tunities which exist in the immediate vicinity for chil- 
dren who leave school between fourteen and sixteen 
years of age. Where no such opportunities exist (and 
there are such places to be found), the problem of pre- 
vocational work is greatly modified by that fact. 

As illustrative of such a situation may be cited the 
example of a large residential city where there is but 
one small industrial plant, and where not more than 
ninety work certificates have been issued in a period 
of three years. 

The word "survey" has been used here, and perhaps 
deserves a word of comment. In recent years several 
notable examples of school surveys have come to the 
attention of educators generally. One of the most re- 
cent is that which has been conducted by the National 
Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education at 
Richmond, Virginia. 

Commenting on this survey, a bulletin of the United 
States Bureau of Education gives the following : — 

A Municipal Inventory 

To what extent can the worker "get on" in his job? To 
what extent can the city's industries give special training 
which they do not now provide? To what extent can the 
schools be a factor in preparing for vocations? 

These very important questions the city of Richmond, Vir- 
ginia, is making an organized effort to answer for herself. 
Richmond has requested a commission of experts to make an 
industrial and educational survey for the purpose of obtain- 
ing full information concerning the principal occupations, 
especially those in which young people are employed, in order 
to formulate plans for improving the opportunities for train- 
ing and preparation for those occupations for which such 
training is practicable. This survey was begun the 1st of May, 
1914, and is to be finished by the 15th of October. 



42 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

The local forces behind the survey include the Board of 
Education, Board of Trustees of Virginia Mechanics' Insti- 
tute, Business Men's Club, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary 
Club, Central Trades and Labor Council, Metal Trades Coun- 
cil, besides a number of employers' associations. 

The findings of the survey and the recommendations of the 
committee are to furnish the basis of discussion at the prin- 
cipal sessions of the next annual convention of the National 
Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, to be held 
in Richmond, December 9-12, 1914. There will be assembled 
at the convention the leading authorities on industrial and 
vocational education from the entire United States, who will 
study and pass upon the proposals, and recommend those 
forms of education which it is believed it will be to Rich- 
mond's advantage to carry out. 

As used in our discussion, however, the word "sur- 
vey" is not intended to indicate that such an elaborate 
inventory need be made or that it is necessary to em- 
ploy a large body of educational and industrial experts. 
It is believed that a little sincere self-examination on 
the part of any school administration, if made sym- 
pathetically and with the desire to discover and to 
remedy any of the unfortunate conditions which are 
susceptible of improvement, will result in much genuine 
progress and frequently in the organization of success- 
ful prevocational courses. 

In our typical community let us say that we have 
found the usual amount of retardation; that we have 
been able to ascertain that a small but considerable 
percentage of children are planning to leave school at 
the earliest opportunity with the full approval of their 
parents; that certain low-grade industrial occupations 
are open to them, together with the usual messenger 
service and odd jobs common to almost every com- 
munity. The question then arises as to the method of 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 43 

organizing and conducting pre vocational work in such 
a way as to better materially the education of these 
children. 

It will be seen that our problem is one of adjustment 
between the children, their educational possibilities, the 
teachers, the peculiar traditions of the school in ques- 
tion, and the general nature of the work which the chil- 
dren will probably do if they leave school without some 
special training. 

The school superintendent who urges upon his board 
of education or upon his teachers the formation of a pre- 
vocational class is likely to be confronted with one or 
more of the following questions : On what basis shall we 
select the children for these classes? Have we a right to 
distinguish between the children of the rich and the 
poor? Who shall determine whether or not a given child 
shall leave the regular class and enter the prevocational 
class? Would not the parent object to the segregation of 
his child from the school body in general? May we not 
actually prevent some children from "going on," — 
from getting a "good education," — by deflecting 
them from the traditional courses? 

Answers to these questions, in order to be convincing, 
must be derived from actual experience, and it is with 
full knowledge of the methods of selection, of the general 
satisfaction of both parents and pupils with the mod- 
ified work of the prevocational classes and of the success 
of prevocational work in general that the following sug- 
gestions are confidently made. 

The plans for the prevocational class should be as 
carefully worked out as possible, and fully explained to 
the principals of the various elementary schools for the 
purpose of securing their cooperation. The principals 



44 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

should be urged to select, with the knowledge and ap- 
proval of the parents, only those children for whom the 
class is thoroughly appropriate. Before being asked to 
give their approval the parents should be informed of 
the nature and purpose of the prevocational work to be 
offered and of the benefits which may come to the chil- 
dren from entering the class. They should be told as 
candidly as possible, and by way of comparison, just 
what prospects the pupil has if he remains in the regular 
class. They should be shown that the prevocational 
class is an important part of the school system, and that 
it does not prevent a pupil from reaching high school, 
although it is not the primary purpose of these classes 
to give preparation for it. These facts clearly presented 
to the parents should form the basis on which they 
decide the question. Experience has shown that where 
the matter is talked over thus frankly, the parents will 
almost invariably decide in favor of the prevocational 
work. After the classes have been in operation for two 
or three years, and the methods and purpose of such 
work firmly established, parents will be influenced in 
their judgment by the desires of the children themselves 
and by the testimony of other parents whose children 
have had successful experience in the new classes. 

Following are examples of circulars which have been 
issued for the information of principals, parents, or the 
public generally regarding the selection of children for 
prevocational classes. One from Boston related to a 
new prevocational center just organized. This was 
issued by the Assistant Director of Manual Arts 1 who 
is in direct charge of the prevocational work, and was 
intended merely for the information of the principals in 
1 Now Associate Director of Manual Arts. 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 45 

one district. Although pre vocational work had been a 
feature of the Boston public schools for six years when 
this circular appeared, it was not taken for granted that 
every one was fully informed regarding the purpose of 
the work. The circular follows. 

Boston Public Schools 
Department of Manual Arts 

September 20, 1913. 
To Principals of Districts in the Neighborhood of the Mather 
District : — 
As you know, there has been established in the Lyceum 
Hall an additional prevocational center. For the size, general 
character, length of sessions, and other information, please see 
Minutes of May 26, 1913. The course of study will be some- 
what similar to that laid out for the other prevocational cen- 
ters (please see Minutes of February 19, 1912), although the 
time for the academic branches will be increased as the day is 
to be a six-hour day, without home study; the shop work will 
be given nine hours per week. 

Two of the classes are in operation, and there will be oppor- 
tunity for several boys from your district to enter the third 
class which is being organized. The kind of boys who should 
be considered are first those who are retarded academically, 
while having some facility with their hands, and who need 
special attention and increased constructive stimulus to enable 
them to graduate within a reasonable time, and, second, nor- 
mal members of the three upper grades who do not intend to 
remain in school after the age of fourteen or graduation, and 
who expect to enter the trades. 
This center is intended to 

(a) Put into operation before the age of fourteen an influ- 
ence which may prolong school life beyond fourteen. 
(6) Enable some retarded boys to graduate earlier than 
under present circumstances. 

(c) Awaken in certain boys a desire for an industrial career, 
and offer definite opportunity for vocational guidance 
therein. 

(d) Point to the Boston Industrial School or the Mechanic 



46 PRE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Arts High School after graduation rather than to the 
street or to some blind-alley occupation. 
(e) Afford some definite preparation for boys who do finally 

go to work at fourteen. 
The class will be divided into A, B, and C divisions roughly 
corresponding with the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, and 
the lowest division will certainly, and the other two divisions 
probably, have an equal amount of training in each of the 
three shops before graduation. 

Each of the three classrooms is to be closely associated with 
some one shop, and all of the English, Mathematics, History, 
and Geography is to be based upon the work of the particular 
shop associated with the classroom. When a boy changes his 
shop he will change his classroom. 

If you have any candidates for this center, will you kindly 
send me their names at an early date with a short state- 
ment concerning each candidate, giving grade, age, ability in 
manual training, general academic ability, and deportment. 
While the center is in no sense disciplinary, there is no objec- 
tion to sending to it a boy whose conduct has been unsatis- 
factory because he was not profiting by his present course of 
study. If you send me the names of any candidates I will 
notify you when the new class will be ready to receive them. 
Very truly yours, 

John C. Brodhead, 
Assistant Director of Manual Arts. 

The following circular from Chicago marks one of the 
most important steps in the development of prevoca- 
tional work, namely, its entry into the precincts of the 
high school. Here these classes use the high-school 
building and the high-school equipment. While the 
term "pre vocational" appears only incidentally in the 
text, and not at the head of the circular, these classes 
in all of the high schools are called " Pre vocational 
Classes." A new feature of these classes was developed 
in 1914 in the Lane Technical High School, when it was 
decided that any prevocational boy might be promoted 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 47 

by subjects. A boy may now be regularly enrolled as a 
high-school boy in one subject while pursuing other 
subjects as a part of the pre vocational class. This marks 
the full development of the sympathetic attention which 
is being given to the needs of these individual pupils. 
The circular shows the process of selecting the boys. 

Board of Education 
City of Chicago 

Office of the Superintendent of Schools 
Department of Examinations 

Examination for Boys and Girls Who Wish to Take Intensive 
Industrial Elementary Course 
On Monday, June 16, 1913, there will be held an examina- 
tion for the following classes of pupils whose parents desire to 
have them take an intensive industrial elementary course: — 

1. Boys in the sixth grade who are fourteen years old and 
over. 

2. Girls in the sixth grade and upper fifth (5A) who are 
fourteen years old and over. 

3. Boys and girls in the seventh and eighth grades who are 
fifteen years of age and over. 

The course for boys will be given at the Lane Technical 
High School, the Lake Technical High School, and the Crane 
Technical High School, and will consist of mathematics, me- 
chanical drawing, English, history, physiology and geogra- 
phy. 

The course for girls will be given at the Lucy Flower High 
School, and will consist of cooking, hand and machine-sewing, 
the running of power machines, English, art, physiology and 
hygiene, mathematics, history, music, and physical education. 
Special attention will be paid to the needs of those pupils who 
must become self-supporting within a short time. 

The examination for boys will be held at the Lane Techni- 
cal High School, the Crane Technical High School, and the 
Lake Technical High School, on Monday, June 16, and will 
begin at 1.40 p.m. 

The examination for girls will be held at the Lewis-Cham- 



48 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

plain School, the Medill Grammar School, and the Franklin 
School, on Monday, June 16, and will begin at 9 a.m. 

Principals and teachers will please give time to a full dis- 
cussion of this subject with the pupils and their parents so 
that no mistake may be made through the impression that 
this course will be a short-cut to the high school. The work 
will be what might be termed "pre vocational." This is not 
an effort to take the pupils out of the upper elementary grades; 
it is an effort to give the best work possible to young people 
from fourteen to eighteen years of age who are not likely to 
pursue a high school course. At the same time, the pupil who 
completes the elementary work satisfactorily may be admitted 
to the Technical High Schools. 

If any of the pupils of your school who meet these require- 
ments desire to attend the examination, you will please fill 
out for each one a blank, which will be sent you. This blank 
will serve as a card of admission and should be presented at 
the school at the time of examination. 

Please to notify the examiner on enclosed blank not later 
than June % of the number of your pupils who will take this 
examination. 

Ella Flagg Young, 

Superintendent of Schools. 

Of a somewhat more general nature is the plan de- 
scribed in the following instructive circular from 
Seattle : — 

Seattle Public Schools 

Elementary Provocation al Courses of Study 

The establishment of industrial, or prevocational, courses 
of study in several of the elementary schools was authorized 
by the Board of Directors several years ago. The classes or- 
ganized in these new courses have been very successful. Re- 
ports received indicate that pupils have shown a greatly 
increased interest in school, and have done work of a higher 
rank than ever before. 

These courses of study relate much more to the industries 
for the boys, and to household arts for the girls, than the 
ordinary school course. Many parents desire to give their 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 49 

children the advantage of taking a course of study that pro- 
vides for a training in the practice of these useful occupations 
and a study of their economic and efficient application in life. 
They believe that such a course will furnish a much more 
satisfactory preparation for the duties of life than that 
afforded by the regular academic course. It will also furnish 
an adequate preparation for a higher education. 

In every school there are some boys and girls who prefer 
studies and exercises that employ their hands, and who have 
greater aptitude in such studies than their fellows. They 
advance in their development by what they do rather than 
by what they hear. They are practical-minded. Many such 
children drop out of school as soon as the law permits, not 
from lack of ability, but because the school fails to fit its pro- 
cedure to their particular needs. The establishment of these 
classes in industrial arts is an attempt to fit the school to the 
wants of this class of pupils. 

These new courses of study also provide a more practical 
prevocational training for a class of boys and girls in the 
public schools who will receive the greatest benefit from in- 
struction which will the soonest prepare them for training in 
a definite vocation. Such industrial classes are not substi- 
tutes for a trade school, but for those who desire it they will 
lead more quickly and surely to apprenticeship in business or 
trade than the regular classes, while those pupils who desire 
to continue their study, either in the high school or special 
schools, are prepared to do so. 

The school day is five hours, which is the same as for other 
grade-school classes. Three hours of this time are spent upon 
the ordinary school studies, modified to suit the end aimed at 
in this plan, and two hours are devoted to the industrial and 
household arts — shopwork and mechanical drawing for the 
boys; cookery, sewing, design and drawing for the girls. 

Separate classes are provided for boys and girls because of 
the difference between their courses. 

Outline and Explanation of Industrial Arts Courses of Study 
For boys 

English Mechanical Drawing 

Geography-History Shopwork 

Arithmetic 



50 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

For girls 

English Drawing and Design 

Geography-History Sewing 

Arithmetic Cookery 

English will include reading, spelling, penmanship, letter- 
writing and composition. 

Geography will include studies of climatic conditions and 
influences, industries and products, exports and imports, 
routes and centers of trade; the studies will be correlated as 
far as practicable with the work in shop and kitchen. 

In History there will be a review of the influential events 
in the development of our country, including particular refer- 
ence to the country's greatest characters and their achieve- 
ments, and to the causes contributing to our present national 
standing. The purpose will be to give an elementary knowl- 
edge of the important facts in our history, and to imbue with 
a patriotic desire to be serviceable. The study of Civics is 
included, and special attention is given to local civic problems 
and duties. 

In Arithmetic there will be the study of fundamental opera- 
tions, including fractions applied in shop work and in other 
local problems, percentage and interest, applications of meas- 
urements and mensuration. The purpose will be to secure 
accuracy in the use of figures and practice in their application 
to practical affairs. 

Industrial. The shop instruction will consist of work in- 
tended to give knowledge of materials and their sources and 
uses; tools and skill in their use; methods of construction; 
problems in machine and handwork; acquaintance with fac- 
tory and individual production; the use of preservatives, as 
paints, oils, etc.; discussions of the various vocations; visits 
to work under construction, and to manufacturing and com- 
mercial establishments. 

The industrial work for girls will consist of plain sewing, 
repairing, garment cutting and fitting; the study of house- 
hold linens, and other fabrics used in the home; the use of the 
sewing-machine; class talks and discussions regarding cloth- 
ing, its style, cost, methods of manufacture; the sweat-shop, 
trades and vocations for women; hygiene and home sanitation. 
There will also be the study of plain cooking, properties of 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 51 

foods, economy, table service, sanitation, laundry work, care 
of the home, etc. Class talks upon related topics of home life 
and its obligations, domestic service, and income and expen- 
diture will be a feature of this work. 

The Relation of this Course to the High School 
The rank of these courses will correspond to the seventh 
and eighth grades of the usual school course, and will require 
two years for completion. At the end of the two years pupils 
completing this work, who choose to continue their school 
work, may enter the high school upon an equal footing with 
pupils entered from the regular academic course. Pupils who 
enter high school, after completing satisfactorily the full two 
years' work in industrial arts, will be allowed two high-school 
credits. Some pupils may be promoted to high school before 
they have finished the required manual-arts work, because 
of their advancement in academic subjects. These pupils will 
be entitled to one credit if they have done satisfactorily three 
semesters' work in the manual arts. If they have completed 
less than three semesters' (fttak, they will be entitled to no 
advance credit, but will enter \igh school on the same basis 
as pupils from the regular academic courses. Opportunity will 
be given pupils who spend less than two years in this course 
to do extra work after three o'clock, in shopwork or domestic 
science, to enable them to earn the two credits before pro- 
motion. 

Requirements for Admission 
This course is open to any boy or girl thirteen years of age 
or over, who has completed the equivalent of the present sixth 
grade, provided the parent or guardian makes a written re- 
quest that the pupil take the industrial course, and the prin- 
cipal of the school last attended by the pupil approves the 
request. The number of pupils in each industrial class is 
limited to twenty-four boys or twenty-four girls. 

Application for Admission 

Do you wish to have 

enrolled in one of the classes taking the industrial course of 
study? If so, please sign your name below as indicative 
of your desire, detach this application, and return it to the 



52 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

school. Application for admission to any class cannot be 
favorably considered after the number enrolled has reached 
twenty-four. 

Yours truly, 

Frank B. Cooper, Superintendent. 
Parent or Guardian. 

Louisville, Kentucky, affords an example of extreme 
simplicity and purposefulness in the organization of 
this work, and of rigid adherence to the strictly pre- 
vocational nature of the school. A paragraph from a 
circular of the school states : — 

Only thirty-two children could be satisfactorily handled in 
this initial class of prevocational training. They were, there- 
fore, carefully selected from among children who had applied 
for permits to work, or who would positively leave school 
within a year. In order to find the children who would most 
immediately benefit by the training, the various districts of 
the city were investigated, and a factory district in the west- 
ern portion of the city was selected. Following this decision, 
the homes of individual children were visited, and their 
parents interviewed. No child was permitted to enter this 
class if there was any intimation on the part of the parents 
that further schooling was considered for the child. Twenty- 
one boys and eleven girls compose the class. 1 

One difficulty which will almost certainly be met in 
any city of considerable size, where the individual 
teachers are allowed to make the selections, will be that, 
unless thoroughly informed and heartily in sympathy 
with the plan of prevocational work, teachers will select 
only their difficult pupils, those who are troublesome in 
discipline, mentally subnormal, or otherwise found to 
be undesirable for the regular school work. One super- 
intendent remarked that the greatest value of the pre- 

1 The second year of the school (1914-15) the number was in- 
creased to eighty. 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 53 

vocational class was the relief which it afforded the regu- 
lar teachers by eliminating the less desirable pupils. 
While admitting that this benefit may be great, it should 
not be considered a determining factor in the problem 
of selecting children for pre vocational classes. 

This leads naturally to the discussion of the attitude 
of the teacher and of the school management generally 
toward the whole matter. 

The survey of our typical community will undoubt- 
edly show that a majority of the teachers are thoroughly 
in sympathy with the old plan of grading, holding the 
opinion that the system, in assigning a pupil to a given 
grade, is evaluating accurately his standing in com- 
parison with his fellows and his actual ability to do the 
prescribed work of that grade. In other words, the 
teachers will be entirely confident that a given sixth- 
grade boy is rightly placed. It will be difficult to con- 
vince them that the boy might do the work of the 
eighth grade just as well, provided some opportunity 
could be given him to overcome the difficulties en- 
countered in the first month. An occasional teacher 
may be found who would be glad to promote a boy on 
the assumption that he had the ability to do the work 
in a higher grade provided the teacher could "get hold 
of him," but, with the vast majority, the "system" will 
be held in high repute and the pupil will not be per- 
mitted to do any of the work in grade seven until he 
has "completed the required course of study" for grade 
six. 

It must not be assumed that the teachers themselves 
are to be held blameworthy because of this attitude. 
It is rather that conditions have forced them to take 
the traditional point of view, namely, that this selec- 



54 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

tive function of the school is of first importance. The 
teachers are forced to work with large classes, are re- 
quired to "get results," to prepare for the next grade 
such children as have the requisite ability to "go on." 
They are obliged to use every means at their disposal 
to accomplish the ends which have been fixed by the 
authorities, including the rigid elimination of the unfit. 
"These are the survivals," said a school principal in 
showing an upper-grade class to a visitor. It is perti- 
nent to ask, "What have they survived?" Many grade 
teachers would be glad to break away from this un- 
natural and undemocratic contest and to conduct the 
children more happily along paths which lead to more 
desirable and attainable ends. 

The tendency in prevocational work is to ignore grad- 
ing as far as possible and to assume that each individual 
is competent to do some of the work in grades much 
higher than that in which he is listlessly sitting, gener- 
ally at the back of the room, with little or nothing to 
show for it at the end of the year. It cannot be stated 
too strongly that the attitude of the school manage- 
ment and of the teaching force in this one matter of 
grading is of first importance in determining whether 
or not prevocational classes are needed in a school 
system. Instances are on record where the plan of pro- 
motion is so flexible and the attitude of all concerned so 
sympathetic toward individual needs and aptitudes 
that there is little reason for the establishment of pre- 
vocational work. These schools are in the small mi- 
nority at present, however, and the rule of inflexible, 
rigid, impersonal grading still holds and therefore 
renders necessary, or at least desirable, the organiza- 
tion of prevocational classes. 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 55 

Undoubtedly the typical survey will demonstrate 
the need of a prevocational class and also will show the 
locality in which it should be organized. It should, as 
well, throw some light on the problem of selecting the 
teachers and the principal under whose immediate 
charge the work is to be carried out. The characteris- 
tics of prevocational teachers will be discussed more 
specifically in a later chapter, but the matter is men- 
tioned briefly in this connection because one purpose of 
the survey should be to discover some of the excellent 
and specially qualified teachers who are undoubtedly 
to be found in the service. The selection of such teach- 
ers will affect the organization of the work vitally. 

There should be at least two teachers, one for some 
form of constructive handwork and the other for the so- 
called "regular" subjects or bookwork. Even if the 
class is so small that two teachers are not required, so 
far as the number of pupils is concerned, it is desirable 
to adopt a departmental plan, drawing the teachers, 
for a part of their time, from other classes. Where it is 
possible to have three bookwork teachers, on whole or 
part time, such an arrangement is even more effective 
than that of having only one teacher in charge of the 
class. For example, if there could be three different 
teachers, it would be desirable to select one who is 
extremely fond of books and literature, another who 
enjoys teaching any kind of mathematics, and a third 
who has the attitude of the scientist, who likes to ex- 
amine material and to do things with it, observing and 
recording results and ultimately drawing conclusions. 
All these teachers, while differing in professional quali- 
fications, should be alike in that they recognize as per- 
nicious the common practice of grading on a basis of 



56 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

one hundred per cent without reference to the personal 
conditions under which the work has been done; in that 
they believe in the public school, but believe even more 
confidently in human nature; in that they are versatile, 
adaptable, hopeful, cheerful, and above all sympathetic 
with the children whom they teach. There is no school 
system which does not include such teachers, and a 
survey will undoubtedly bring to light some men or 
women peculiarly well qualified for the new work. 
They should be made to feel that the assumption of 
the new duties is a distinct professional advance. 

The shopwork teacher should be a so-called "practi- 
cal man," — one who has had shop experience, but he 
must be potentially a teacher. It is desirable to develop 
some local man who is well acquainted with the com- 
munity rather than to call from a distance one who has 
had theoretical or even practical training in an entirely 
different environment. Manual-training teachers who 
have spent two or three summers working in local man- 
ufacturing establishments make excellent teachers of 
pre vocational shopwork. 

The planning of courses of study and the arrange- 
ment of programs will depend upon many factors pecul- 
iar to each school system, factors brought to light in 
making the survey. Most of these have been touched 
upon in discussing the selection of children or will be 
taken up in detail in subsequent chapters. At this 
point it is desirable only to mention, in merest outline, 
the salient features of the class organization. 

Under proper conditions and with due recognition 
of the additional service given by the teachers, the 
school day may be lengthened to six hours. When this 
is done, no home study should be required, though it 



THE INAUGURATION OF CLASSES 57 

may be permitted or even encouraged in individual 
cases. 

A large amount of time, preferably about one half, 
should be devoted to some form or forms of practical, 
constructive handwork. 

As far as possible, and the possibilities are great, the 
bookwork should be related to the constructive work, 
at least in the beginning and until a vital interest in the 
particular subject has been awakened. 

All work should be given without too great elabora- 
tion and should be of such a nature that the children can 
succeed measurably in doing it. The development of 
confidence and of the habit of succeeding is of greater 
importance than the mastery of certain prescribed facts 
in the book subjects, or than the development of tech- 
nique or speed in the shopwork. 

The purpose of giving prevocational training is al- 
ways dual. It prolongs the school life of the children 
and it also fits them somewhat better to meet the con- 
ditions of occupational life, provided they enter such 
life, as they commonly do, before seventeen or eight- 
een years of age. 

The course is not intended to deprive a pupil of further 
school work, but rather to devise a new means whereby 
some may reach the high school with its diversified 
opportunities. However, it is recognized that many can- 
not go to high school, but will find their work in the 
humbler occupations of an industrial life, and therefore 
the teaching, at all times, should emphasize the gospel 
of work and the essential worth of the worker. 



CHAPTER V 

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PREVOCATIONAL 
BOYS 

While the personal factor is of prime importance in 
any educational work, it is, perhaps, more necessary to 
study the personal characteristics of the children in pre- 
vocational classes than in almost any other field. The 
plan of such work is one of adjustment of the school to 
the individual, instead of adherence to the usual prac- 
tice of requiring all pupils to measure up to prescribed 
standards. An accurate appreciation of the peculiar per- 
sonality of each pupil, therefore, is essential to the full 
success of the project. This appreciation can be reached 
most effectively through a sympathetic study of the en- 
vironmental conditions under which the individual has 
developed characteristics which have helped to make 
him a misfit in the school system. 

The predominant personal characteristics of pre- 
vocational pupils, which were partially revealed in the 
description of the methods of selecting such children, 
are worthy of further examination. They may be enu- 
merated as carelessness, lack of a sense of responsibility 
for self-direction, intellectual reticence or modesty, 
physical restlessness, and mental immaturity. 

It should be admitted that these characteristics are 
not confined to prevocational boys, but are to be found, 
at times, in all children; but unless these characteristics 
produce retardation and a chronic dislike for school 



PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 59 

life, the case is not serious. Because of the lack of 
facilities in the regular school with which to meet ade- 
quately the educational requirements of children pos- 
sessing these characteristics, the greater freedom and 
more varied methods of the prevocational class are 
found necessary. The failure of the regular school to 
interest and stimulate these pupils should not be con- 
strued as a criticism of the teachers, but rather it should 
be taken as an indication that a school organization 
must be sought where the individual differences of the 
pupils can be more carefully studied. Such studies have 
been possible with the pupils of the industrial classes at 
the University of Chicago and with the prevocational 
classes at the Lane Technical High School, Chicago, 
and they form the basis of the following analysis. It 
may be said, however, that the conclusions drawn are 
confirmed by testimony from a wide range of pre- 
vocational and elementary industrial schools through- 
out the country. 

It has been noted that these pupils are careless. They 
are fun-loving and care-free to such an extent that they 
do not appreciate the restraint imposed upon them by 
their own duties or by the rights of others. When re- 
straint of authority is substituted, they resent it as 
something arbitrary and unreasonable. Yet restraint is 
exactly what they need, for they are irresponsible and 
are ignorant of the need of self-control and self -direction. 
It is necessary to meet such a situation sympathetically, 
with little recourse to authority, and to develop grad- 
ually the pupil's ability to supervise himself. This is no 
easy task, and is well-nigh impossible under ordinary 
school conditions. 

Another characteristic, which is rather difficult to 



60 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

describe, may be called diffidence, modesty, or intel- 
lectual reticence. Perhaps this modesty is not always 
in evidence. In fact the contrary is frequently the case. 
Yet these prevocational boys generally show extreme 
reluctance to display their intellectual abilities, even 
when such abilities are considerable. This diffident 
attitude is quite consistent with the general disinclina- 
tion of ignorance to expose itself. These pupils have 
so long regarded themselves as misfits in the school 
that they have hidden, as under a bushel, the light which 
they possess. The regular teacher, in the endless rou- 
tine of school duties, has failed to appreciate many of 
these excellent qualities which have thus been kept in the 
background. Modesty is assuredly an admirable char- 
acteristic, but, in the case of the slow child, this trait 
is too often interpreted as stupidity or "backwardness." 

The baneful effect of this modesty or reticence is 
augmented by the mental immaturity of the boys. 
Frequently they are large of body, but younger in their 
thoughts than other boys of the same age, especially 
those who are more or less precocious. By constant 
comparison with the younger and "brighter" pupils, 
the prevocational boy frequently becomes discouraged 
and disheartened, and finally is glad to avoid humilia- 
tion by receding into the dull gray background where 
he can escape observation. 

If he does not do this he goes to the other extreme 
and becomes "troublesome." He resents criticism and 
direction, especially when such direction relates to tasks 
which he has learned to dislike heartily. Some one has 
said that everybody likes to learn, but no one enjoys 
being taught. These boys seem to resent the process 
of "being taught." 



PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 61 

Prevocational pupils frequently lack power of adjust- 
ment. They do not readily adapt their rate of progress 
to that of the class, nor are they able to "give atten- 
tion," automatically, so to speak, simply because the 
time has arrived for a certain lesson. One is reminded 
of the little primarian who, when reprimanded for not 
keeping her place in the reading-lesson, replied, "I can 
keep my place, but I cannot keep everybody else 's 
place." It is much the same as when a military expert 
discovered that an army could march farther in a day 
if each man took his own gait instead of the regulation 
army step. This is figuratively true of the prevocational 
class. 

This peculiarity is especially marked in the book 
subjects. As noted before, such pupils are sometimes 
described as "anti-book." It appears to be true, how- 
ever, that they are not necessarily antagonistic to books, 
but rather to the peculiar use of them which school- 
room practice has made necessary. When these pupils 
are allowed to select their books, they are frequently 
as much interested in the use of them as the brightest 
pupils. A good illustration of this fact was furnished in 
the summer session of the industrial class at the Uni- 
versity of Chicago. The class was in session during the 
entire summer, five days a week and seven and one 
half hours daily. The attendance was voluntary, and it 
naturally fluctuated somewhat from hour to hour as the 
different studies were presented. .While satisfactory in 
all classes, the attendance and application were better in 
the hour devoted each day to reading than in any other, 
with the possible exception of the shop work. Catalogued 
as dull and anti-book by their elementary-school teach- 
ers, the boys applied themselves with diligence, even 



62 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

on the hottest summer days, to the various books and 
magazines which were collected with the purpose of ex- 
citing their curiosity and ultimately of training them to 
a habit of reading. Said one boy, " I don't like no kind 
of books except about how to make things." It is to 
be hoped that his eager perusal of Popular Mechanics 
improved his English quite as much as an equal amount 
of time devoted to oral reading in a "Fifth-Reader 
Class." 

It has been noted that, for one or more of the above 
reasons, prevocational pupils are generally seriously re- 
tarded. They have been referred to as the "failures" 
in the schools. They have been thought distinctly in- 
ferior to their fellows, for how else was their belated 
arrival in a given grade to be explained? Have the 
grade teachers been wrong in their judgment? Have 
they overlooked or misinterpreted some of the excellent 
qualities which these children possess, or the unfor- 
tunate personal experiences which have helped to 
obscure them? It is such questions as these that the 
prevocational teacher must seek to answer. Because he 
is not forced to adhere rigidly to a prescribed program 
or plan, the prevocational teacher comes into a different 
personal relation with his pupils. As a result he has 
been convinced that some of the adjectives applied to 
such children are not wisely chosen, to say the least, and 
he has thus been led to study these pupils with great 
care. 

In studying sympathetically the individual children 
in this group, it is generally brought to light that each 
one has, in himself or in his life, some quality or cir- 
cumstance or limitation which has radically influenced 
his school progress. These qualities and circumstances 



PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 63 

cannot be classified or discussed in the mass, but can 
only be revealed by the recital of several individual 
cases. 

In presenting the following cases it is not maintained 
that they are unique or that they could not be du- 
plicated in many public-school classes, but the fact 
remains that these personal traits and environmental 
conditions either had not been discovered in the grade 
schools which the pupils attended or that there had 
been no opportunity or no inclination to adapt the 
educational methods to the needs of these individuals. 
That the markedly different atmosphere of the pre- 
vocational class brought the facts to light warrants 
the setting forth of several illustrative personal studies. 

The following quotations are selected from a large 
number of similar statements made by prevocational 
boys. Each extract is typical and illustrates a peculiar 
handicap under which a considerable number of these 
boys have labored. 

Change of Schools 
Age 15. "I have no mother. I went to nine different schools 
and every school I went to they put me down. Before I came 
to Lane I was in low sixth grade. Now after two semesters I 
am in low eighth." 

Travel 
Age 17. " When I was five years old I went from New York 
to Texas, where my father was killed. The following year my 
uncle took me to Salt Lake City. Then my mother married. 
A month later I was in Tampa, Florida. The next year I was 
in Alaska. I was then ten years old; I could not spell. I have 
been all through Yellowstone and through the Grand Canyon 
of Arizona. I have visited gold, silver, and iron mines. I was 
in the petrified forest and have lived on cattle ranches and 
seen cattle branded. 



64 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

"My last trip was from Denver to Chicago. This is my 
fifth trip to Chicago. And this is the only time I ever stayed 
long enough to stay in school. 

" My grandfather says that he will take me to North Dakota 
when I get an education. He will teach me to be an engineer. 
That is what I want to be. Both my uncles are engineers." 

Bad Health 

Age 15. "I was born in a little shanty and raised in poverty 
and not extra much happiness. I have been operated on sev- 
eral times and have almost lived in hospitals with these horri- 
ble operations and diseases. 

"When I was seven, death knocked at our door and took 
my father. My poor mother has struggled to raise the four 
little children by scrubbing nights and washing days. She has 
brought me up splendid and people often remark how clean 

the little X children are. I mean to do my very best 

at Lane and hope that no teacher will flunk me. My mother 
wants me to have an education." 

Truancy 
Age 14. "I bummed from school because I wanted to go to 
work. I like Lane, but I got the fever for work. I quit, but 
I could not get a good job because I had no education, so I 
came back to Lane. I have quit three times in my life. Now 
my mind is made up to stay and get an education. Ever since 
I made up my mind my report card has been improving." 

Unhappy Domestic Conditions 

Age 14. "At the age of three my father took me to Canada. 
At five I came back and got my first look at my mother. 

"When I was ten I can remember my first error. I got an 
awful bad chum. He persuaded me to hang away from school 
and I got to like it. Finally he moved and I had an awful time 
to stay in school. 

"When I was eight my sister was born and my real troubles 
began. My mother praised my brother and sister and told me 
I was a little piece of misery. She made me stay away from 
school, scrub the floors, and wash the windows. When the 
twins were born, I had to stay home with them when she 
went away. Then my mother divorced my father. 



PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 65 

"I left home and went to my father. Then I was taken to 
the Juvenile Court and I had to stay in a home for a year. I 
was taken out and got put back again. 

"My father began to drink and to beat me. I came to Lane 
so I could stay away from home most of the day to keep away 
from trouble. 

"Now we have a housekeeper and things have changed a 
little, but not the way I wish. I am disgusted." 

Intemperance in the Home 
Age 16. "We live in a furnished room, my father and I. 
My mother left me with my father and the baby is in an 
orphan asylum. My father got drunk when my mother ran 
away. I can't get my lessons when he comes home drunk. I 
can't sleep good either." 

Employment Out of School Hours to Earn Money 

Age 16. "I have an evening newspaper route of about 200 
customers. In vacation I also have a morning route. On 
Saturdays I peddle about 300 papers. 

"It is easy for me to get a job. I just ask and they generally 
take me on. I was going to work before I came to Lane for 
the Daily News at $7.50 a week with chances for advance- 
ment, but seeing the advantages to be had at Lane I changed 
my mind. 

'I do not care very much for school, but I want to graduate. 
I would rather work if I could get good money." 

Age 15. "When in grammar school I used to work in a 
bowling-alley setting up pins until one o'clock at night." 

Age 15. "I stayed out for a year and helped my father in 
his carpenter's shop. 

"I can lay out all winders and stringers in a stair. I learned 
to lay out all stairs made in the shop. Before long the business 
agent from the union made me quit because I was only fifteen. 
I cannot join the unions for two years so I am going to school 
until I am seventeen." 

Special Inclination Toward a Vocation 
Age 14. "This has been the most unlucky year of all. I 
lost my father and my uncle in six months. Everything seems 
to go wrong. 



66 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

"I thought I would like to go to Lane because I am so far 
back in my grades. And I came here and I like everything 
here but forge, which I wish I did not have to take, for I know 
I never will have to be a blacksmith. I want to be a mechanic 
because I was born with the knack to be a mechanic. I can 
do anything in that line. I am a good carpenter and have 
everything of tools there is to be had. I hope to make a good 
living with them some day. When I was small I bought tools 
one by one and now I have a great collection. 

"I made an aeroplane that flew 165 feet at the Coliseum. 
It was three feet long." 

Age 15. "I was born in Italy where I went to school five 
years. At eleven I started my traveling. First Paris seven 
months. Then Madrid five months. Then New York two 
months. 

"Now I go to Lane to learn to be an architect. I take it 
up because since I was a little boy I always liked to draw. So 
I proved to my father that I may do good in that trade and 
he is very satisfied. 

"I have traveled to Cincinnati, Dayton, and Indianapolis 
to help my father in his trade of setting up marble altars. 

"On Saturdays I go to my brother's studio to work in clay 
and draw. I have made faces of babies and arms that show 
muscles and many other things. My teacher put me in the 
high school art class. Evenings I go to the Art Institute. I 
made a design for the cover of our school magazine." 

Age 15. "I was sick very much and we had to move often. 
My father is dead and my mother works to support us. 

"The trade which I would like to follow is a machinist's 
trade. I have been interested in steam engines all the days of 
my life. I like to repair and pull them apart and fix them and 
drive them. All I like is things going fast and making a lot 
of noise." 

Temperament 

Age 14. "When I was eight years old I was put in a sub- 
normal room where there was a bunch of rummys and I got 
just like them in a short time. I was put in that room because 
I was so nervous. I stayed there about a year, then father 
put me in the parochial school for a year. Finally I came 
to Lane. 



PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 67 

"I ought to be in high school long ago. I enjoy my studies 
and am impatient to graduate." 

Backwardness 

Age 14. "It was thought I would become a cripple and my 
mind unbalanced when I was born, but I am well now. 

"I am very hard of learning and my grammar-school 
teachers thought I was lazy. 

"My mother took me to my uncle's farm in Mississippi 
right on the Gulf of Mexico because I had heart trouble. That 
kept me back a year." 

The following cases, perhaps, are exceptional rather 
than typical. They are worthy of note, however, since 
they serve to emphasize the complexity of the problem 
with which the pre vocational teacher deals. 

Age 17. "I am pretty good at my studies, but I can't spell. 
I don't talk much in company because I'm afraid people will 
find out my failing. I want to learn to read and spell well. 
Then my father will take me into his business." 

This boy could not sound his letters when at the age 
of sixteen he came to the prevocational department of 
the Lane Technical High School. 

Age 15. "I live with friends of my folks. I have no father, 
no mother. They sank with the Titanic. So did my little 
sister. I was sick here in America in a hospital and they 
did n't tell me until I got well. I never told my grammar- 
school teachers. Please don't tell anybody. It makes me cry 
if anybody talks to me about it. I don't let the boys know." 

Age 16. "I was always called a tough at school until I got 
into seventh grade with a teacher I liked. I was just going 
to pass when she got sick. Then a sub came and I was n't 
any good after that. Now I 'm ashamed when I see my chums 
in third-year high school." 

Age 15. "I was born in Leeds, England. There the school- 
master had a cane with which he used to beat us. Everybody 
hated the schoolmaster because he had a cane. 

"When I started school here I was surprised to find there 
was no cane, and started to take life easy. The boys told me 



68 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

I was smart and I got a swell head as you might say. So I 
failed twice and that put me back. 

"I was tardy nearly all the time and the teachers scolded 
me nearly every day. I tried to get even with them and they 
tried to get even with me and so the fight was on. 

"When I heard of the shops in Lane I came here to start 
a new life and make up what I had lost. I like my shops and 
work hard. I attended Lane Summer School and made up a 
half-year. I expect to graduate in June." 

Age 15. "When I got to fourth grade it was easy and the 
teacher pushed me into fifth, but it got hard so she pushed me 
back into fourth, and for a year and a half straight they kept 
pushing me up and down. Later in sixth grade I got pushed 
down again, but the principal said I was a pretty big boy to 
be pushed down to that room so she pushed me up again." 

Age 14. "I came to the Industrial Class (U. of C.) to learn 
all I could about everything and especially about machinery 
and mechanical drawing. 

"I am so far behind in school because I did n't stick to it 
because I got so much English and singing. Then they cut 
out the arithmetic in my class and that was the end of me." 

Age 15. "We have just come back from a visit to Europe. 
I like this school because they have shops and I am not too 
big for my room. Some teachers in the grammar school never 
see a big boy nor call on him." 

Age 18. "I went to Lane two years ago and three months 
before graduation I got the Wanderlust. My dreams have all 
evaporated and I am back again after two years of bumming 
and loafing. I want to graduate and go on with my education. 

"I left to go camping and I worked in an architect's office 
for a half a year. 

"I always had a notion to go to sea. And last summer 
while my mother was in Europe she got a job for me to ship 
before the mast with the captain of the S.S. Bergensfjord. I 
signed up in September as a regular seaman, you understand, 
and I got all that was coming my way. I had a fine idea of 
sailing when I started, — to see the world, you know, and 
sail the deeps, and all that, — but when I reached Bergen, it 
was good-bye to the good ship Bergensfjord, and I went to 
Christiania to see my friend who is an army captain and a 



PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 69 

famous "rittmeister"; that means riding-master. There I was 
treated like a king; it seemed that way. Some contrast, you 
may imagine, to a seaman's life. 

"Why am I back at Lane? To get educated. After you 
have eaten and slept with brutes, you know what 'no edu- 
cation' can mean. 

"Well, I would not have been worth a row of pins if I had 
not tried myself out. I could n't stick to school before. I don't 
know what I am good for, the sailing dream is still with me, 
but I am going to get an education, and when I go to sea 
again, it will be different." 

Age 15. "I work in a garage. The owner is tearing a ma- 
chine apart. I enjoy that. I want to be a mechanic. 

"In the school I came from I did n't like literature or Eng- 
lish, at least the way they taught it, to learn adjectives, verbs, 
and what kind of sentences they were. 

"We had to stand in lines of threes, and we got sent to the 
office for everything. And were made to stay after school. 
They don't do any of those things here. 

"They did n't want to let me take the exam, for Lane. 
They said I did n't need Lane because I was getting along all 
right. I wanted to go to Lane and then I began to get marked 
below 75; so here I am and I am very glad to be here." 

It is obvious that the foregoing statements reveal the 
extreme difficulty of ministering to the educational 
needs of these boys, but it is the testimony of those 
actually engaged in the work that, great as the diffi- 
culties are, greater far are the satisfactions which are 
felt with every successful attempt to overcome them, 
because of the growing conviction that the boys them- 
selves are so well worth while. 



CHAPTER VI 

APPROPRIATE SUBJECT-MATTER FOR PREVOCA- 
TIONAL CLASSES 

The following chapters present, in some detail, illus- 
trative examples of concrete school material which has 
been found useful in educational work with prevocational 
pupils. The grouping of this material will indicate at 
once that the usual school subjects are to be given, but 
it is believed that the methods employed are sufficiently 
different from those commonly found in the elementary 
school to make such presentation valuable. It is desir- 
able to devote this chapter to a preliminary discussion of 
the principles governing the selection, organization, and 
presentation of such material. 

In the recent voluminous discussion regarding the 
organization of prevocational classes and elementary 
industrial schools, as a substitute for the usual upper 
elementary grades, it has frequently been claimed that 
a great mass of subject-matter, now found in the grades, 
must be eliminated to make room for new material 
more appropriate for the class of pupils in question. 
Even the progressive 6-3-3 plan of organization em- 
phasizes the necessity of excluding from the curriculum 
of the elementary school much that has long been 
deemed indispensable. 

At the outset, however, it should be noted that there 
are no new school subjects. In general, it may be 
said that what we have been trying to give the children 



APPROPRIATE SUBJECT-MATTER 71 

is essential for every one, but the organizer of pre- 
vocational work will at once establish two principles to 
which he will resolutely adhere and which he will urge 
upon his subordinate teachers for their guidance at all 
times. First, the pupil is always to be considered of 
greater importance than the subject, and his enjoyment 
of the school as a whole is not to be marred by undue 
insistence on marked progress along all lines. Second, 
all must acknowledge that the acquisition of a particular 
set of facts relating to any subject is of relatively little 
importance as compared with the development of a gen- 
uine interest in some one practical phase of the subject. 

The old subjects are the only subjects, or certainly 
the most important subjects, with which the school 
can deal. All must learn to read and to write, to use 
figures wherever necessary in the ordinary affairs of life, 
to know enough about history to appreciate the ele- 
ment of growth in civilization, enough of science to 
understand that it means a substitution of real knowl- 
edge for mere "rule of thumb," enough physiology and 
hygiene to appreciate the existence of nature's laws 
governing the health of the individual and of society, 
enough technical work to inspire an interest in the in- 
dustrial activities by which the majority of humanity 
supports itself. 

It is hard to conceive of attainment to genuine suc- 
cess in life, under present-day conditions, that is not 
built upon at least a rudimentary working knowledge 
of practically all of these educational elements. These 
are found in the school curriculum to-day as a result 
of the working of the law of the survival of the fittest. 
Because they are essential they have persisted. There- 
fore, the demand for a reorganization of the work of 



72 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

the school through the process of elimination cannot 
be construed to mean the elimination of school sub- 
jects. Rather it is necessary to eliminate some of the 
material which has outlived its usefulness in school work 
because it bears no vital relation to present-day con- 
ditions nor to the lives of the children who are studying 
in the schools. For example, history will not be elimi- 
nated, but much of the military and political material 
will be replaced by that which is economic or industrial 
in nature. Each subject includes a mass of material so 
great that no pupil can absorb it all in years of school 
life. The problem, therefore, is to find that particular 
portion of the material which will make the strongest 
appeal to the boys and will arouse in them an interest 
which may demand a lifetime of growth for its entire 
satisfaction. In other words, the usual school subjects 
must be vitalized or "motivated" anew. 

The common practice has been to attempt to teach 
the principles of the subject with the hope that a mas- 
tery of such principles will enable the pupils to go forth 
into life and to apply them to any situation which 
presents itself. Frankly, it must be admitted that this 
procedure of teaching the principle without immediate 
application has rarely been successful. It certainly has 
not been effective with the mass of public-school chil- 
dren. Of course, this has been clearly recognized by 
educators for many years, and innumerable experiments 
have been made to meet the situation by providing for 
what is generally referred to as the concrete in educa- 
tion. For example, it will be admitted that most people 
who read and think at all find constant application for 
whatever knowledge they may possess regarding per- 
centage. Human affairs are compared one with another 



APPROPRIATE SUBJECT-MATTER 73 

by means of percentage, from the standing of the base- 
ball clubs to the condition of the child workers in the 
United States. In teaching percentage in schools, how- 
ever, we find that, in seeking an application for the prin- 
ciples, the makers of textbooks sometimes overlook the 
real significance of "the concrete" in education. For 
example, the following problem from a present-day- 
arithmetic may be cited: "Before the use of anti-toxin 
a physician lost 80% of his patients who were sick with 
diphtheria; since he has used anti-toxin he has lost only 
5% of such patients. How many lives has he saved out 
of 620 cases treated by the new remedy?" 

Undoubtedly such information as the above is im- 
portant for the physician and his patients and possibly 
for medical students, but there is a question whether a 
boy of twelve will find this example any more concrete 
than the frankly abstract problem in percentage. In 
fact, with prevocational boys it is found that an elab- 
orate and varied scheme of illustration frequently dis- 
tracts the attention from the principle involved and 
renders the instruction even less effective than it would 
be if a purely abstract treatment were employed. 

These boys must be led to discover that there is a real 
use for percentage. They may be shown, for example, 
that it serves to express certain facts which are needed 
by the machinist in planning and executing his work. 
In this way there may be created an interest in per- 
centage so great that the pupil will really wish to 
acquire facility and accuracy in handling the process in 
the course of his own work in the shop or elsewhere as 
occasion may arise. 

This procedure of maintaining an intimate relation 
between the shopwork and the more purely intellectual 



74 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

processes constitutes genuine correlation and cannot be 
too strongly urged. The usual methods of education are 
often deplorably ineffective with the child who has no 
interest in the mere acquisition of knowledge and who 
sees no reason for making the effort which such acquisi- 
tion demands. With such children, generally motor- 
minded, the interest which the academic work derives 
from its association with shop work is often the determin- 
ing factor in making school life successful. In all work 
with prevocational boys it is being demonstrated con- 
stantly that the chief value of the concrete is to estab- 
lish an initial interest in school studies previously found 
distasteful. 

The fact must be clearly established that the so- 
called "concrete" is concrete for the type of pupils 
under consideration only when the individual is vitally 
dependent upon it for the knowledge which he needs 
to use immediately in attaining some desired end. 

With this initial interest firmly established, the ne- 
cessity for a liberal amount of drill and practice becomes 
obvious to the pupil himself. Be this initial interest 
centered in doing a "man's work" in the shop, or gain- 
ing admission to the high school, or preparing to go out 
into the world to get a job with "good pay," achieve- 
ment being the child's aim, drill and practice for accom- 
plishing that end become enlivened, animated activities, 
transformed into something real and valuable because 
of the appreciation that such drill is indispensable to 
joyful accomplishment. 

When the boy is as eager to perform his school tasks 
as to engage in a baseball contest, there is no more 
questioning on his part about drill in shop or lesson- 
room than there is regarding the practice he devotes to 



APPROPRIATE SUBJECT-MATTER 75 

acquiring skill for the ball game. To the boy it is evi- 
dent that the pitcher must practice faithfully at every 
opportunity, while all the members of the nine must 
throw, catch, bat, and run bases for the purpose of ren- 
dering themselves efficient when the time comes to use 
that skill in defeating the opposing team. In much the 
same way, if the matter is rightly presented, prevoca- 
tional boys will not only accept, but will accept will- 
ingly, the necessary drill in their school subjects, but 
they must be shown in every instance the practical 
application which the subject has to real life. 

An adequate amount of repetition of any school 
subject can be secured by some such expedient as that 
of drawing the child's attention to the parallel between 
drill in school work and the infinite amount of practice 
performed in every walk of life in the real world. Devel- 
oping speed in piecework in the factories, training for 
athletic competition, acquiring technique in perform- 
ance on a musical instrument may be cited as examples. 

Second in importance only to the proper use of the 
concrete is effective correlation between subjects. With 
the establishment of genuine interest the child himself 
becomes the correlating principle, since his interests re- 
veal the need and the possibility of such correlation. 
When the child's actual interests and needs are over- 
looked, too rigid adherence to some abstract principle 
of correlation is likely to defeat its own ends and pro- 
duce a situation more distasteful to the child than that 
which results from a purely abstract and isolated treat- 
ment of the various subjects. 

Correlation between all subjects at every point is 
impossible and unnecessary. The mind works more 
rapidly than the hand and a natural correlation occurs 



76 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

only at comparatively few points of contact; but if the 
two principles above stated be followed, — first, that 
the initial interest must be established, and second, 
that the child's interest must be the correlating princi- 
ple, — a course of study will be developed which will be 
at once coherent and sufficient for the needs of the in- 
dividual child. 

In organizing prevocational classes, therefore, the 
plan commonly employed is to make the shopwork 
central and paramount, not, perhaps, because it really 
is of greater value, but because it appeals to the boys as 
being so. It measures up with the vocational motive 
which boys of this type are very likely to have at four- 
teen or fifteen years of age, and this vocational motive 
is seized upon as likely to be effective in organizing the 
entire scheme of shop- and bookwork. 

It should not be overlooked that there are certain 
psychological reasons for employing shopwork, reasons 
which for years have been urged in support of manual 
training. These reasons are as valid to-day as ever, and 
when coupled with the more practical reasons for giv- 
ing liberal attention to handwork, they present a strong 
case for the plan of making the shopwork the central 
feature and for grouping the bookwork around it. 

It should be said that no particular form of shop- 
work can be recommended as superior for all times and 
all places to every other type, but this shopwork should 
result, where possible, in the production of such articles 
as can be used by the school or the community. This is 
one of the points of difference between the more formal 
manual training and the prevocational handwork. 

In organizing and presenting the so-called academic 
work one important consideration is the use of text- 



APPROPRIATE SUBJECT-MATTER 77 

books. A feature of the instruction in book subjects in 
many prevocational classes is that the book is made by 
the pupil himself. Regarding this practice, it cannot be 
insisted too strongly that it is futile to hunt for text- 
books in most of the subjects given in prevocational 
classes. Such textbooks do not exist and perhaps 
should never be made. For example, a textbook on 
Vocational Arithmetic will hardly fit any particular pre- 
vocational class unless it is made for that class. An 
effective Textile Arithmetic, or Printers* Arithmetic or 
Farm Arithmetic may be compiled, but a general voca- 
tional arithmetic which tries to cover all phases of 
vocational work is simply an illustration of reversion 
to the type, and we shall have what most school arith- 
metics are to-day. As above stated, the initial interest 
must be gained by reference to the immediate shop- 
work problems, or to problems arising from other school 
activities, and those problems cannot be foretold by the 
maker of the textbook unless he be the teacher of the 
class. In fact, the selection of "live," pertinent ma- 
terial, out of which the courses of study and the texts 
are made day by day, is one of the most important 
duties of the prevocational teacher. The succeeding 
chapters will contain liberal reference to sources of 
such material. In general it may be said, however, 
that it must be found in current literature, in shop 
catalogues, in government reports, in reports of labor 
unions, etc., etc. 

The plan of having the pupils develop their own 
textbooks is quite in keeping with the purpose of this 
new type of education, since the school is expected to 
articulate directly with life. It is therefore natural that 
the material should be drawn from actual conditions 



78 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

found at the present time and frequently in the imme- 
diate vicinity. A "loose-leaf system" of texts, prepared 
by the pupils themselves from this varied material, is 
almost certain to be of greater interest than the ordinary 
textbook, which must always be some years behind the 
times and must be made, presumably, to fit a wide 
variety of local conditions. It is the specific rather than 
the general which appeals to the pupils, and this is best 
supplied by current literature and live reports. In some 
schools where bookbinding is carried on, the texts are 
bound and presented to the pupils at the end of the year. 
While this work has not been developed extensively, it 
offers great opportunity for enriching the academic 
work in pre vocational classes. 

Some elements which are of great moment in the pre- 
sentation of the subject-matter to prevocational classes 
are individual instruction, distribution of time, the size 
of classes, and the qualification of teachers. 

In the presentation of material, as little class instruc- 
tion as possible should be given, and then only when 
such instruction meets the immediate needs of a large 
majority of the boys, or when it is related to some sub- 
ject of general interest, such as shop talks, or talks on 
excursions or current topics. 

The common practice is to devote about one half the 
time to shopwork and one half to the bookwork. The 
apportionment of time between the several subjects, 
however, should be as flexible as possible. Of course, 
the exigencies of program-making will demand a more 
or less hard-and-fast division of time, but this may be 
varied for individuals. For example, one or more boys 
may be permitted or required to work on arithmetic or 
science or drawing during the shop period, especially if 



APPROPRIATE SUBJECT-MATTER 79 

that arithmetic, science, or drawing is immediately re- 
lated to the particular shopwork in hand, and perhaps 
needed by the individual to explain some phases of his 
work. In short, the presentation of material should be 
made with as much reference to the individual as 
possible. 

Perhaps no single feature of organization affects 
the success of prevocational work more surely than the 
size of the classes. A somewhat common practice, but 
one which cannot be wholly justified or commended, is 
that of limiting the classes in shopwork to a reasonable 
size and of combining two shopwork classes under one 
teacher for the bookwork. There is serious doubt 
whether the bookwork can be done any better than the 
shopwork with boys of this type grouped in large 
classes, though the results, or rather lack of results, are 
more apparent where accomplishment is measured in 
visible material. At all events, when the great value of 
the related bookwork is appreciated, every reasonable 
opportunity will be afforded for conspicuous success, 
and a small class will constitute one of the best of 
these opportunities. Thus, whether in bookwork or shop- 
work, the classes should be small enough to enable the 
teacher to do much individual work. These pupils, as 
previously shown, are markedly different, and no one 
method can be used successfully with all. 

The argument will be made that the small classes 
are too expensive, but it should be recalled that the per 
capita cost of the high school is sometimes two or three 
times that of the grades. These children are entitled to 
small classes because they are essentially of secondary 
grade, or at least of the age which would normally admit 
them to the smaller classes and more expensive organi- 



80 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

zation of the high school. They also deserve special 
consideration in view of the fact that, in all probability, 
they will spend but two or three more years in the day 
school before going out to assume the responsibility of 
self-support. 

Furthermore, an inefficient plan is expensive at any 
cost, and it cannot be maintained too insistently that 
unless the individual can be reached in the prevocational 
organization the plan will lose the greater part of its 
effectiveness. When inaugurating such work it is better 
to achieve signal success with a few pupils than to 
conduct classes with numbers so large that the outcome 
is doubtful. 

Finally, it is of the utmost importance that only suit- 
able teachers be employed for prevocational classes. As 
noted in a previous chapter, they should be selected 
with great care and because of their peculiar fitness for 
the work, not merely because they are available or be- 
cause they must be given a position somewhere in the 
system. 

The shopwork teacher should preferably have had 
real shop experience and should be a competent me- 
chanic. Nothing impresses these boys more than to see 
that a man "knows his business." It is desirable that 
he be also "an all-around man," adaptable, resourceful, 
and interested in other forms of constructive work be- 
sides his own specialty. If he has had professional train- 
ing and teaching experience so much the better, but it 
should be obvious that such qualifications are not com- 
mon and that they generally secure a superior position 
for the man who possesses them. Such men are less 
numerous than the positions which are open to them. 

In most instances, under present conditions, the best 



APPROPRIATE SUBJECT-MATTER 81 

results will be attained by finding a local man of the 
right type and training him in the position. The train- 
ing should include careful and sympathetic supervision 
by the principal of the school, attendance at teachers' 
meetings and conventions, the reading of pertinent liter- 
ature, but especially the closest cooperation with the 
teacher of the academic work. 

Although the work is no longer in the experimental 
stage, it is still in the pioneer period of its development, 
and the same degree of preparation cannot be expected 
of these teachers as is required of the instructors in the 
regular schools. It is too early to expect the normal 
schools and universities to supply such teachers in 
sufficient numbers. These institutions, however, are 
more or less alive to the situation, and several of them 
are making an effort to train shopwork teachers for 
pre vocational and industrial schools. 

The bookwork teacher should have had professional 
training and successful teaching experience in the ele- 
mentary grades, preferably the seventh and eighth. It 
is desirable, however, that such experience should not 
have been so long or so circumscribed as to impress him 
ineradicably with the narrow ideals of the traditional 
school. Furthermore, success in the regular grades can- 
not be taken as conclusive evidence of ability to cope 
with the problems of the pre vocational class. There 
are many teachers who succeed measurably in teaching 
the regular school work, which has been so carefully 
"systematized," because they have "learned their 
trade." They know their subjects and all the details 
of the particular portions which have been assigned to 
their grade. They are familiar with the peculiar diffi- 
culties and with the methods or devices with which 



82 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

those difficulties may be met. It is easily possible, how- 
ever, that such a teacher might fail lamentably with a 
prevocational class. Here are needed initiative, alert- 
ness, resourcefulness, cheerfulness, originality, and a 
wide interest. Without doubt the personal characteris- 
tics of these teachers, whether they teach the shopwork 
or the book subjects, are of far greater consequence than 
their professional training or experience. Unless they 
possess an instinctive love of children and a sympathetic 
attitude toward their idiosyncrasies, they would be 
better employed elsewhere, for in no educational posi- 
tion is there a greater demand made upon one's faith 
in humanity and confidence in the ultimate triumph of 
good over error than in a prevocational class. It is 
therefore upon the untiring faithfulness and the willing 
consecration of these teachers that the ultimate success 
of this great educational advance will depend. 



CHAPTER VII 

PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 

In the introductory chapter it was pointed out that 
the purpose of prevocational work was dual, — first, to 
incite intellectual activity by means of a new and more 
vital interest in one or more of the regular school 
subjects, and second, to increase the pupil's potential 
occupational efficiency as an insurance against incom- 
petency should he be forced into work at the earliest 
possible moment. 

If properly conducted no subjects have greater possi- 
bilities in both respects than physiology and hygiene. 
Children of prevocational age may easily be interested 
in a study of the body and of the laws, both physical 
and social, which govern its development and secure the 
conservation of its powers. 

At first thought it may seem unnecessary to present 
arguments in favor of introducing the study of physiol- 
ogy into the course of study when instruction in this 
subject is required by law in so many States. It should 
be appreciated, however, that physiology is seldom 
taught to the pupils with whom this volume is dealing, 
such instruction being reserved for the grades which 
they rarely reach, or, if given in the lower grades, being 
of such a nature as to make little appeal to the children 
of this type and to have practically no effect on their 
mode of living. Furthermore, where the subject is 
taught to industrial classes it is still in its experimental 
stage, which fact warrants a statement of our principles 



84 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

as well as of our practices. We would give briefly, there- 
fore, the reasons why this instruction is peculiarly perti- 
nent for pre vocational pupils. 

The study of physiology is, by its very nature, of 
genuine interest to pupils of this age, and this interest 
may be utilized in leading the children, not only to take 
better care of their bodies, but to appreciate the real 
value of other sciences which are more or less closely 
related. 

The study of hygiene is perhaps even more effective 
as a means of developing occupational efficiency. Much 
thought, time, and money have been expended in de- 
veloping courses of study which will contribute to 
the pupil's ability to take his place in the ranks of the 
world's workers. There are no means of evaluating this 
training in terms of increased efficiency, though careful 
observers have little doubt that such training actually 
enables the pupil to find his place in industry more 
quickly after leaving school and to fill it more accept- 
ably. There must always be a question, however, as to 
just how great the advantage of this training may be 
over that afforded by the traditional school courses. 
But even a superficial examination of the facts will con- 
vince one that any improvement in the physical condi- 
tion of the industrial worker will certainly increase his 
efficiency. Improper diet, unhygienic housing and work- 
ing conditions, and any infringement of the laws of 
physical life result in a sapping of energy and a loss of 
time from sickness, which often prove a serious handi- 
cap in the competitive struggle with those more liberally 
endowed by nature with strong bodies, and by circum- 
stances with more invigorating surroundings either at 
home or in the work-place. 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 85 

While the efficiency and the period of usefulness of 
the workingman depend more largely upon his health 
than upon any other one thing, he rarely has any 
adequate knowledge of the effect which his mode of life 
and his surroundings have upon his physical health and 
strength. It would seem natural that the people's 
schools, especially those which exist primarily to secure 
greater efficiency in the future industrial worker, should 
devote a great deal of attention to a subject of such 
vital importance. An examination of the courses of 
study in the various industrial schools will convince one, 
however, that little consideration is usually given this 
subject. It will be seen, therefore, that any study or 
training which tends to improve the pupil's health, or to 
make him more intelligent regarding the laws which so- 
ciety has enacted for the benefit of child or adult workers, 
will possess real vocational value. As it will quite as 
certainly contribute to the pupil's culture, the study of 
physiology and hygiene is eminently suitable for all 
pre vocational classes. 

Authorities differ as to the best method of teaching 
the subject and especially as to whether a study of 
physiology should precede instruction in hygiene. Tol- 
man, in his excellent book Hygiene for the Worker, 1 be- 
gins his preface with this sentence: "The teaching of 
hygiene fails when it is founded upon the assumption 
that a knowledge of anatomy is necessary." 

Ritchie, in the preface to his Human Physiology, 
says : — 

Neither can the desired end be reached by teaching the 
rules of health without an anatomical and physiological basis; 

1 William H. Tolman, Hygiene for the Worker, American Book 
Company. 



86 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

for without such a basis, hygiene is an intangible and an elu- 
sive subject. 

There are many reasons why the course in hygiene 
should be preceded, wherever possible, by an elemen- 
tary and eminently practical study of anatomy and the 
functions of the various organs of the body. Some of 
these reasons may be stated as follows : — 

1. Unless it is based on some knowledge of physiol- 
ogy, hygiene must be taught through mere memorizing 
and not through processes of reasoning. 

2. To arouse the young worker's interest in hygiene 
without giving him some scientific knowledge of the 
different organs of his body may lead him to fall a prey 
to the first quack doctor with whom he comes in contact. 
If the technical and scientific terms are avoided alto- 
gether, the pupil is likely to be awed or unduly im- 
pressed by the first person whom he hears glibly using 
them on the street corners. 

3. For children of the age with which we are dealing 
in this volume there is reason to believe that physi- 
ology will be more interesting than hygiene and therefore 
should precede and vitalize it. Dr. Peter Sandiford, 
in The Mental and Physical Life of School Children, 
says : — 

Curiosity about the mechanism of the human body does not 
awaken before adolescence, hence it is worse than useless to 
try to teach physiology to ten-year-old children. But physiol- 
ogy to fifteen-year-olds is one of the most fascinating subjects 
in the curriculum. 

4. There are many devices for teaching physiology 
which make a strong appeal to motor-minded children. 
For example, the mechanics of the respiratory system 
may be shown by means of a glass tube, the air pump, 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 87 

and a small rubber bag. 1 The Human Mechanism, by 
Hough and Sedgwick, will be found helpful in dealing 
with the various systems of the body from a mechanical 
standpoint. 

A study of such physiology as time will permit, to- 
gether with the personal hygiene which quite naturally 
grows out of the discussions, leads logically to some 
consideration of "industrial hygiene" which ought to be 
of interest to all future industrial workers. It can be 
made especially valuable to them through the assistance 
which it may give in choosing an occupation, or, per- 
haps, in refraining from doing so. Such a study should 
seek to inform the children about their own physical 
powers, or lack of such, and it should also show that the 
peculiar advantages or dangers of a given position ought 
to be considered as carefully as circumstances will per- 
mit before any occupation is entered. Gradually the 
schools are coming to assume some responsibility in this 
matter. Miss Florence M. Marshall, principal of the 
Manhattan Trade School for Girls, says, "It would be 
little short of criminal neglect to permit a girl to train 
for a standing trade who has a flat foot." Letting this 
serve as a simple illustration of the two factors involved 
— the physical condition of the worker and the physical 
demands of the occupation — it is clear that a variety 
of data can be secured which the teacher may classify 
and present as best suits the educational and economic 
conditions of his own pupils. Further illustrations are 
given in one of the class talks outlined later. 

It is to be regretted that industrial hygiene to-day 

1 Hough and Sedgwick, The Human Mechanism (Ginn & Co.), 
" Mechanics of Breathing Movements " (p. 169); " Mechanics of the 
Heart Beats " (p. 138) ; "Apparatus to Illustrate Circulation " (p. 152). 



88 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

deals more with disease than with health. Since its line 
of attack is to abolish unhygienic conditions, it must 
necessarily call especial attention to the dangers and 
diseases which inhere in so many occupations. It may 
appear, therefore, that the details presented herewith 
serve as warnings to avoid certain positions rather than 
as guides to suitable occupations. It is sometimes 
affirmed that, since children must enter more or less 
dangerous and debilitating occupations, there is little 
value in taking this merely negative attitude and in 
warning them against doing so — that the more impor- 
tant thing is to instruct young people how to minimize 
the dangers and the harmful effects of their occupations. 
It must be remembered, however, that society is regu- 
lating more carefully year by year or even prohibiting 
the entry of children into dangerous trades, and is also 
seeking to reduce the dangers. The surest way to induce 
industry to ameliorate these unfortunate conditions is 
to put an embargo on the supply of necessary labor 
or, by other means, to render the practices expensive. 
The truth of this statement is amply sustained by the 
attitude of employers toward the "safety first" move- 
ment after the passage of a workingman's compensation 
law. 

There is no economic necessity for this species of 
human sacrifice, and the schools should ally themselves 
uncompromisingly with all other child-saving agencies 
in its curtailment or its entire abolition. Of course, for 
some time to come children will enter such occupations, 
and so the teacher should present also the positive side 
of the question and show the potential workers how to 
protect themselves in every possible way. 

While, as above stated, a general interest in the sub- 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 89 

ject may be assumed, it is desirable to vitalize or popu- 
larize this interest by some initial lessons intended to 
show the children the economic or money value of the 
proper care of the body. The following are suggested as 
sources of material for such lessons: 

Bulletins of the National Safety Council, Continental 
and Commercial Bank Building, Chicago. There are 
hundreds of employers who are members of this council. 
They receive weekly bulletins relating to the prevention 
of industrial accidents and diseases as well as those 
common to all walks of life. The bulletins are posted in 
the factories or other places of employment for the in- 
formation and guidance of the workmen. Membership 
may be secured by the payment of an annual fee of 
$5.00. A copy of one of these bulletins follows: — 

Distributed by National Safety Council, Chicago, III. 

To All Our Employees: 

Concerning Pneumonia 

The Pneumonia season has arrived. 

Not because the weather is colder — Arctic explorers do not 
get Pneumonia until they return to "Civilization." 

Not because of raw winds, though these chill the body and 
thereby reduce resistance to the disease. 

Pneumonia comes at this season because people close doors and 
windows to keep out cold air, and thereby condemn themselves tcr 
breathe foul air in which the Pneumonia germ rejoices and multi- 
plies. 

Keep your houses as warm as you like. People in this country 
are accustomed to warm rooms , and it would be foolish to make 
a sudden change. 

But see that the place where you live and work has as muck 
fresh air as possible. 

A closed window shuts sickness IN, not OUT. 

The Sanitol Educational Company, St. Louis, Mis- 
souri, publishes a set of drawings by H. Reichard which 



90 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

show the growth of the teeth and indicate how necessary 
it is to care for them. 

With judicious use, an advertisement published by 
Colgate & Company, Jersey City, New Jersey, entitled 
Dental Hygiene, will be found valuable. 

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New 
York, distributes, free of cost, pamphlets on The Health 
of the Worker, First Aid in the Home, Milk, Teeth, 
Tonsils, and Adenoids. This fact clearly indicates the 
money value of preserving the health, and the pupils will 
find in the pamphlets much excellent advice. 

As mentioned above, the presentation of such ma- 
terial as this impresses the pupils with the fact that it 
" pays " to keep well. 

Another method of giving a practical introduction to 
the subject of physiology is to discuss industrial fatigue. 
In this connection the teacher would do well to consult 
Miss Goldmark's authoritative work, Fatigue and Effi- 
ciency. l Answers to questions like the following may be 
brought out in the course of informal discussions sup- 
plemented by assigned readings from a few reference 
books, in which case particular pages and paragraphs 
should be selected to simplify the work: — 

Questions 

1. What is fatigue? (Goldmark, p. 22; Hough and Sedg- 
wick, p. 55.) 

2. Of what importance is its study to the industrial worker? 

3. To what is muscular contraction due? 

4. Can it be shown that this contraction of the muscles is a 
form of combustion? 

5. What is necessary for combustion? 

6. How is oxygen brought to muscles? 

1 Josephine Goldmark, Fatigue and Efficiency. Published by 
Charities Publication Committee, 105 East 22d Street, New York. 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 91 

7. How is this oxygen carried in the blood? 

8. What part in this process is played by the food we eat? 

9. What are the elements in the carbohydrates? 

10. What are the results of the union of oxygen and glycogen? 
(Goldmark, p. 22.) 

11. What is energy? 

12. What becomes of the heat? 

13. What becomes of the carbon dioxide and other wastes? 

14. What is meant by the fatigue poison? (Hough and Sedg- 
wick, p. 60.) 

15. What is the remedy for fatigue? (Goldmark, p. 25.) 

Although there are no text or reference books exactly 
suited to the needs of the prevocational work in this 
subject, the following are recommended for use in the 
above and in similar lessons : Good Health, Emergencies, 
The Body at Work, Town and City, Control of Body and 
Mind, by Luther Halsey Gulick (Ginn & Co.) ; Primer of 
Hygiene, Primer of Sanitation, Human Physiology, and 
Primer of Physiology, by John W. Ritchie (World Book 
Co.); The Woods Hutchinson Health Series, Book n. 
(Houghton Mifflin Co.). 

The practical phases of the question of fatigue may 
be made very real to the pupils by telling them of the 
studies of accidents in factories and of their relation to 
fatigue. The results of one such study are given here- 
with. 

It might be claimed with justice that eternal vigilance 
is the price of safety in some industries. It is necessary 
that the operative come to his work with mind alert and 
muscles under good control. That he fails to present 
himself in this condition accounts for many industrial 
accidents, as the following will show: — 

Statistics covering accidents in the factories of Illi- 
nois for a period of one year show that between the hours 



92 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

of eight and nine o'clock in the morning there were 120 
accidents, and that this number steadily and progres- 
sively increased until, during the hour between eleven 
o'clock and noon, 257 accidents were recorded. In the 
hour following the noon rest, or between one and two 
o'clock, there were 111, the number again increasing 
hour by hour until, between four and five o'clock, the 
maximum of 260 accidents was reached. The most 
reasonable conclusion is that fatigue is responsible for 
the increase in the number of accidents in the late hours 
over the number in the early hours, and raises the ques- 
tion why the first morning hour should not show a much 
lower record than it does. The difference between the 
early morning hour and the early afternoon hour is 
comparatively slight, but it is highly significant in that 
it points to possible personal negligence on the part of 
the operatives between five o'clock in the afternoon and 
the hour of beginning work the next morning. It brings 
to the front the subject of social conditions in general, 
and opens the questions of personal hygiene in its rela- 
tion to sleeping-quarters, habits of eating, drinking, 
smoking, and to the nature of such recreation as may 
have been taken. 

In this connection it is perfectly feasible to teach the 
pupils something about the workingmen's compensa- 
tion laws. While this may not be "hygiene," it grows 
directly out of "industrial hygiene," as it is a part of 
that movement which society is making to conserve the 
human element which enters, as such an important fac- 
tor, into the industrial problem. The whole "safety- 
first" movement is the result of this interest in conserv- 
ing human life, and valuable material can generally 
be obtained from large manufacturing establishments 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 93 

where the movement has been placed in the hands of 
one individual charged with the responsibility of reduc- 
ing accidents. 

This may seem a rather difficult subject for the chil- 
dren of prevocational age, but, in reality, is it more so 
than much of the technical grammar and abstract 
mathematics which we have required children of this age 
to study? Does it not come nearer to life, as they know 
it, than much of the history and geography? And is it 
not the most reasonable foundation for such practical 
sociology and citizenship as the young iudustrial worker 
can possibly grasp? Concrete material for the discussion 
of this question can be had from many sources, but the 
bulletins of the American Association for Labor Legis- 
lation will be found sufficiently suggestive for the in- 
terested teacher. 

In addition to the information which the pupils gain 
from text and reference books, from what may be called 
commercial material, and from personal observation, it 
will be necessary for the teacher to give class talks him- 
self or to secure, from time to time, the voluntary assist- 
ance of men and women from the field. As an example 
of the kind of discussions which will be found interest- 
ing and valuable the two following are submitted. i 
They are adapted from TolmarCs Hygiene for the Worker. 

What Kind of Posilion should I seek ? 

Before taking any position the young worker should first 
submit to a thorough medical examination, such as is given 

1 Additional material of this nature may be found in such refer- 
ences as the following: Sir Thomas Oliver, Dangerous Trades (Lon- 
don: Murray); William H. Tolman, Safety (Harper & Brothers); 
George H. Ireland, The Preventable Causes of Disease, Injury and 
Death in American Manufactories and Work-Houses (American Pub- 
lic Health Association). 



94 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

in many schools to-day. This would furnish data regarding 
eyes, ears, chest, nose, throat, lungs, kidneys, back, hips, legs, 
and feet. If the individual is flat- or narrow-chested or afflicted 
with catarrhal or bronchial troubles, he should not work at 
file-cutting, painting, glass and metal grinding and polishing, 
stone-cutting, paper-hanging, gilding, some kinds of wood- 
working, grinding and cutting of mother-of-pearl and bone, 
nor in earthenware and china factories, because of the harm- 
ful dusts resulting from the processes emploj^ed in these in- 
dustries. Neither should one seek employment as cigar-maker, 
tailor, shoemaker, engraver, or jeweler, because of the stoop- 
ing position which must be taken in such work, thus cramping 
the lungs. Such persons should seek out-of-doors employment 
as far as possible. 

Persons whose hearts are weak should not engage in occu- 
pations involving great strain upon this organ. They should 
not take work where there is much lifting or carrying of heavy 
loads, or where there is a constant strain on certain sets of 
muscles. Such persons are not physically fitted to become 
bakers, brewers, butchers, coopers, metal-grinders, millers, 
carpenters, weavers, stone masons, or machine-operators. 
They should engage in some light muscular work, but never 
neglect daily exercise. 

Those having weak or inflamed eyes should avoid dusty 
trades, or those in which one comes in contact with heat, 
steam, vapors, and fumes. Persons who have vision in only 
one eye should not select an occupation where they are obliged 
to make accurate measurements on fine work requiring great 
care. Watchmakers, engravers, tailors, dressmakers, chemists, 
and draftsmen all require good eyesight, as the strain on their 
eyes is greater than in most other trades. 

Persons who have broken-down arches or who suffer from 
varicose veins should not select occupations where they are 
obliged to stand for hours at a time. They should not become 
motormen, conductors, or bakers, nor seek work in stores or 
laundries. 

Bricklayers, tanners, and butchers are subject to skin dis- 
eases through the handling of cement, hides, and much hot 
water. Persons afflicted with any inflammation of the skin 
should not engage in these occupations. Those who are liable 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 95 

to suffer from eczema should be careful not to come in contact 
with acids, dyestuffs, and other materials which might in- 
crease the trouble and make it necessary to give up the work 
entirely. Such persons are not fitted to become bakers, brick- 
layers, painters, lacquerers, polishers, cooks, or laundry- 
workers, or to do any work where the hands are kept long in 
water. 

Persons whose hands perspire freely cannot do good work 
as engravers, watchmakers, fine-instrument makers, or as 
workers in any of the fine metals. They are particularly un- 
fitted for the handling of delicate materials, such as laces and 
linens, and for such fine, clean handwork as millinery, em- 
broidery, sewing, bookbinding, and fine leatherwork. 

Industrial Poisoning 

Industrial hygiene treats also of the various industrial 
" poisons" and of how to protect the worker from their harm- 
ful effects. One illustration only will be given here, namely, 
lead poisoning. 

Of all the metals employed in the arts and industries, none 
is so widely and generally applicable as lead. Potters, cutlers, 
file-cutters, glaziers, lead-workers, painters, operators in elec- 
tric works, typographers, plumbers, glass-workers, earthen- 
ware- and tile-makers, lead-foil-makers, shoe-finishers, em- 
ployees in mirror and silvering works, some chemical workers, 
and those who wash lead-workers' clothing are all subject to 
lead poisoning. 

Lead is a subtle poison. Most of its salts have no unpleas- 
ant taste or odor, are easily soluble, and produce their baneful 
effects so gradually and insidiously that the worker often be- 
comes seriously ill without any preliminary warning. The 
symptoms need not be discussed here, but the way or ways in 
which the poison enters the human system and the means 
which may be taken to safeguard the worker will be noted 
briefly. 

The metal gains an entrance to the body through the respi- 
ratory organs, the digestive canal, or, occasionally, the skin. 
Inhaled as dust, it is drawn into the respiratory passages, 
where it is dissolved and passed into the blood, or it may be 
suspended in the saliva and swallowed. On reaching the 



96 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

stomach it is acted upon by the hydrochloric acid of the gastric 
juice, converted into a soluble salt, and absorbed. 

To prevent lead poisoning the worker should keep himself 
in as good general condition as possible, exercise care in the 
selection of food, avoiding acid fruits and using plenty of 
milk, come to his work with his stomach well filled, and espe- 
cially practice rigid cleanliness on leaving the works and be- 
fore eating. A few months ago the Pullman Company, by the 
simple expedient of compelling the employees to bathe their 
hands and faces in hot water for ten minutes, both before 
luncheon and before going home, reduced its cases of incipient 
lead poisoning among its painters from seventy-five to none. 
One white-lead manufacturer advocates giving a free break- 
fast to the operatives before the beginning of the day's work, 
while a certain British tile works furnishes hot milk free every 
morning. Cleanliness with regard to the clothing is also im- 
portant. In Great Britain the employer of glaze- workers, for 
example, is required to furnish each of his men with a full suit 
of washable clothes and to wash and mend them at his own 
expense every week. 

Some of the dramatic incidents in the warfare which 
modern society has waged against the more deadly of 
the ancient diseases may be made the subjects of valu- 
able class talks by the teacher on the general topic 
"Public Health a Public Duty." The following material 
is given as a suggestion to the teacher of a few of the 
illustrations which may be cited of the conquest over 
disease, and of sources from which similar information 
can be drawn. The discussion given here is not intended 
for the pupils themselves, but the teacher will have no 
difficulty in adapting to the requirements of his class 
the ideas which are advanced. 

Dr. Edward T. Devine, in Misery and Its Causes, 
says : — 

The health department and the public schools, physicians 
and social workers cry aloud from the house-tops the value of 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 97 

fresh air; of simple, inexpensive, nourishing food; of exercise 
in the open air; of the practice of thorough mastication; of 
temperance in diet and of abstinence from drugs and strong 
drink. But people are slow to act upon these counsels, and 
they destroy foolishly and recklessly their most valuable per- 
sonal asset next to good character: viz., their health. Eco- 
nomic necessity excuses some, but only a very little, of this 
improvidence. 1 

Perhaps one reason why the people are so slow to 
join whole-heartedly in the crusade against disease is 
because there still remains something of the mediaeval 
attitude toward "the shocks that flesh is heir to," 
accepting disease as natural and inevitable or even as 
a just punishment for wrong doing, or a "visitation of 
Providence." There seems also to be a belief that men 
were more healthy in "the good old days" before the 
modern methods of fighting disease by public statutes 
were inaugurated. 

In all ages there appear to have been some who be- 
lieved that health was natural and that disease was the 
result of wrong living, and in modern times, as can be 
shown by the lowered death-rate, society has won many 
a conflict with the ancient enemy by enlisting the serv- 
ices of science. The following facts attest the truth of 
these statements : — 

Rome and Carthage paved their streets, built sewers, 
and drained swamps to make their cities habitable. A 
later-day neglect brought to Europe frequent ravages 
of pestilence. Such epidemics are reported for the 
years 550, 1000, 1345, 1350, 1485, 1528, and 1665. The 
death-roll for the Black Death in the years 1345 and 
1350 numbered millions. China is said to have lost at 

1 E. T. Devine, Misery and its Causes (Macmillan Company, 
1911), p. 74. 



98 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

that time 13,000,000. Paris lost 50,000, and London 
and Venice each 100,000.1 

Erasmus was among the first to preach that filth was 
the cause of these epidemics when he rejected the 
divine origin of the sweating sickness in 1458-1518 and 
attributed it to the unclean habits of the English and 
the poor ventilation of their houses. 

Pasteur says : " It is in the power of man to cause 
the parasitic maladies to disappear from the surface 
of the globe, if, as I am convinced, the doctrine of spon- 
taneous generation is a chimera." 

Dr. Evans says a $10 per-capita health administra- 
tion continued for fifteen years should eliminate con- 
sumption, smallpox, diphtheria, and typhoid; should 
greatly lessen scarlet fever; should halve the baby 
death-rate; should halve poverty and materially de- 
crease crime; and should increase the efficiency of 
labor. 2 

Formerly historians have been too much occupied 
with kings, generals, dynasties and battles to give con- 
sideration to mortality tables or to causes of death other 
than the sword, although it is undoubtedly true that, 
even in times of great wars, more soldiers die or are 
disabled by disease than by the casualties of the battle- 
field. 

In recent years, however, society has taken cogni- 
zance of the heavy toll which disease has levied, and 
has made some notable crusades against it with such 
battle-cries as: "No Mosquitoes — No Yellow Fever"; 
"No Rats — No Plague." 

1 Municipal Sanitation, Pennsylvania Health Bulletin, January, 
1913. 

2 City Club of Chicago, Bulletin (1911), pp. 1-18. 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 99 

In 1898 Ross discovered that malaria is transmitted 
by mosquitoes. In 1900 Walter Reed, of the United 
States Army, confirmed the Finlay theory of the trans- 
mission of yellow fever. At the time of Reed's discov- 
ery fever had prevailed in Havana continuously for one 
hundred and forty years. For half a century it had 
produced an average of two deaths a day in a single 
city. To-day, however, a more efficient sanitary organi- 
zation is not to be found in America, if, indeed, in the 
whole world, than is maintained in Cuba. In Havana, 
taking a five-year period dating from 1893, the deaths 
from yellow fever, malaria, and smallpox amounted to 
sixteen per cent of the total deaths of the city. What a 
contrast with a similar period dating from 1903, when 
the deaths from these three diseases combined amounted 
to only .72 per cent! x 

Memphis in the summer and autumn of 1878 had an 
epidemic of yellow fever that devastated the city, not- 
withstanding that one half of the people fled at its 
approach. In fact, the yellow-fever problem weighed 
heavily on the prosperity of the entire South and 
crippled its best efforts at development. The story of 
its conquest by the expedient of exterminating the mos- 
quito which transmitted the disease is well known to 
all. It is a lesson which should not be forgotten. 2 

In Canton in 1894 an epidemic of plague broke out 
which in that city alone killed 180,000 people. Two 
years later it reached Bombay, and Dr. Blue, of the 
United States Marine Hospital Service, writing for the 

1 Dr. Hiram Byrd, Progress of Sanitation in Florida. The Record 
Company, St. Augustine, Florida, 1911. 

2 W. C. Gorgas, Report of the Department of Sanitation of the Isth- 
mian Canal Commission for the Year 1912. Washington, 1913. 



100 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Los Angeles Times, July 27, 1912, said that half a 
million beings were dying of plague annually in India. 
Contrast this with the situation in San Francisco. In 
1907 there were five hundred deaths from plague in 
that city, but the local and federal health officers, 
aided by thousands of enterprising citizens, undertook 
to destroy the rat. The work was begun in 1907 and 
was carried out so thoroughly that in a few months the 
rats were exterminated and the epidemic was brought 
to an end. 1 

A notable fact is that a decrease in the death-rate of 
children under five years of age has been accomplished. 
Some interesting tables and other matter relative to 
this subject are to be found in The Woods Hutchinson 
Health Series, Book u. (Houghton Mifflin Co.). The 
Educational Series, No. 21 (Board of Health, Chi- 
cago), is especially instructive. Among its various 
charts is one showing that, contrary to popular belief, 
the immigrant mother knows far less about the proper 
care of babies than does the better-educated native 
mother, the ratio of the deaths of the babies of the two 
classes being as 125 to 14. 

In regard to the death-rate among adults, Fred L. 
Hoffman, statistician for the Prudential Life Insurance 

1 William DuPuy and E. T. Brewster, "Our Duel with the Rat," 
in McClures Magazine, May, 1910. 

L. E. Coper, A Word to Ship Captains about Quarantine. Govern- 
ment Printing Office, Washington, 1912. 

This contains — 

(1) Symptoms of plague, 
(a) Bubonic form. 
(6) Pneumonia form, 
(c) Quick Black Death. 

(2) Descriptions of rats. 

(3) Methods of killing rats. 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 101 

Company, gives a table 1 showing that the greatest num- 
ber of deaths in the registration area of the United 
States are from diseases which result from bad air and 
bad or poorly prepared food. That these causes should 
be made the subject of extensive study is evident. 

Burton J. Hendrick, in his article on the "Pure Food 
Law," in McClure's Magazine for March, 1915, presents 
facts concerning the uses and abuses of the Pure Food 
Law, together with an account of the employment of 
poisonous dyes, flavorings, and other injurious ingredi- 
ents in the manufacture of candy, ice-creams, and 
many foods of which children are the principal con- 
sumers. The United States Supreme Court decision in 
favor of the use of bleach in the manufacture of flour 
and the repeal of the Pure Food Law, to take effect in 
June, 1916, are facts of vital current interest. This 
article was used to excellent advantage, with one pre- 
vocational class, as a basis for several lessons on the 
Pure Food Law. If further study of foods is found de- 
sirable, good material will be found in The Woods 
Hutchinson Health Series (listed elsewhere) which con- 
tains Dr. Hutchinson's classification of foods under 
'Coal, Kindling, and Paper," together with suggestions 
for simple experiments to be used in testing foods for 
this classification. 

1 Principal Causes of Death in the Registration Areas of the United 
States, 1908-1912. 

Disease Number R ^JSq 

Tuberculosis 431,118 15.9 

Heart disease 421,580 15.5 

Pneumonia 369,966 13.6 

Intestinal disease 345,186 12.7 

Nephritis 265,665 9.8 

Accidents 230,679 8.5 



102 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

The most important and the ultimate purpose of all 
this work is, of course, to make good citizens. The 
employee often fails to see that he is a part of the great 
public which passes the labor laws and determines the 
efficiency of their enforcement by means of factory in- 
spection and otherwise. The enforcement of state legis- 
lation for working-hours, proper water and milk supply, 
education of the children, sanitary tenement conditions, 
efficient health administration, is dependent upon the 
interest, activity, and intelligence of the public, of 
which the working-class is a large and influential part. 

The first and most important step in securing hygienic 
rights for workingmen is to make sure that they 
know the rights which the laws already give them. For 
example, the passage of the Workmen's Compensation 
Act in 1913 marked a revolution in the treatment of 
industrial-accident cases in the State of Illinois. 

Where previously the injured workman had been the 
prey of unscrupulous, ambulance-chasing attorneys, of 
unprincipled employers, and of heartless claim agents 
and casualty companies, to-day his legal status is defi- 
nitely fixed and his compensation or his death benefit 
automatically provided for, and the field of activity of 
the lawyers, both reliable and dishonest, is reduced to 
the minimum. Mr. Samuel Harper, attorney for the 
Workingman's Compensation Committee of Illinois, 
desires to give wide publicity to the fact that now, in 
that State, no attorney need be retained by the injured 
workman, and also to the right which the workman 
has of appealing to the Industrial Board in case of dis- 
pute between the employer and the employee. 

What the employee can do for himself, as a citizen 
having equal health rights with employers, he has never 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE 103 

been taught to see. Perhaps the highest service which 
can be rendered to society by industrial hygiene is to 
educate the industrial classes to recognize unhygienic 
conditions, to cooperate with other citizens in elimi- 
nating them, and to secure the enforcement of health 
regulations. Where can this be done more effectively 
than in the schools? 



CHAPTER VIII 

HISTORY 

Many years ago Horace Mann said that, before its 
presentation to children, history should be rewritten. 
Quite recently, in his book entitled The New History, 
James Harvey Robinson, Professor of History, Co- 
lumbia University, pointed out that the writers of school 
textbooks were governed by tradition in the selection 
of material rather than by the "needs, capacity, in- 
terests, and future career of the boys and girls" to 
whom the history is to be taught. He shows, however, 
that some changes have been made in the right direc- 
tion. He says: — 

Our most recent manuals venture to leave out some of the 
traditional facts least appropriate for an elementary review 
of the past and endeavor to bring their narrative into relation, 
here and there [the italics are ours], with modern needs and 
demands. But I think that this process of eliminating the 
old and substituting the new might be carried much farther; 
that our best manuals are still crowded with facts that are 
not worth while bringing to the attention of our boys and 
girls and still omit in large measure those things that are best 
worth telling. 

This point is well illustrated by the following table, 
which was compiled by Professor J. F. Bobbitt, of the 
University of Chicago, by whose kind permission it is 
used herewith. It shows the average number of pages 
devoted to each of several subjects treated in eighteen 
of the school histories most commonly used. 



HISTORY 



105 



Elementary School Histories 



Military Campaigns 87.0 

National Government 14.0 

Race Problems 12.8 

Territorial Expansion 11.5 

Elections 9.6 

International Relations 9.0 

Sociological Aspects of War 8.4 

Indians 6.8 

Political Parties 5.9 

Sectionalism 5.9 

Inventions 5.8 

Insurance 4.0 

Religion 4.0 

Tariff and Free Trade 3.7 

Treaties 3.6 

Church and State 3.6 

Immigration 3.5 

Transportation 3.4 

Growth of Population 2.9 

Legislation 2.9 

Literature 2.8 

Local Government 2.7 

Railroads 2.7 

Canals 2.5 

National Debt 2.5 

Manufacturing 2.5 

Foreign Commerce 2.3 

Mining 2.3 

State Government 2.2 

Education 2.0 

Money Systems . . 2.0 

Banks and Banking 2.0 

Panic and Business Depressions .... 2.0 

Growth of Industry 2.0 

Taxation 1.9 

Cataclysms 1.9 

Politics apd Politicians 1.8 

Communication 1.8 

Capital and Labor, Relations of 1.8 

Army 1.6 

Navy 1.6 

World Expositions 1.5 

Agriculture 1.4 

Mexican Situation 1.4 

Suffrage 1.4 

Treatment of Criminals 1.4 

Family 1.4 

Recreations and Amusements 1.2 

Wealth 1.2 

Roads and Road Transportation ... 1.2 

Telegraph 1.1 

Strikes and Lockouts 1.1 

Government Control of Corpora- 
tions 1.1 

Liquor Problems 1.0 

Peace Movements 1.0 

Crime 1.0 

Factory Labor 1.0 



Our Insular Possessions 

Cost of Government 

Commerce 

Colleges 

Standard of Living 

Courts of Law 

Conservation of Natural Resources . . 

International Arbitration 

Municipal Government 

Mongolian Race Problems 

National Defense 

Military Training and Service 

Health, Sanitation, etc 

Memorials 

Struggle with Nature 

Charities 

Libraries 

Trusts 

Housing Conditions 

Labor Unions 

Centralization of Government 

Savings Banks 

Newspapers and Magazines 

Electricity 

Prisons 

Social Settlements 

Postal Service ._ 

Care of Dependents and Delinquents 

Militarism 

Neutrality 

Poverty 

Illiteracy 

Irrigation 

Fisheries 

Telephone 

Soldiers' Pensions 

Fire Protection 

Marriage 

Women in Industry 

Initiative, Referendum, and Recall . 

Pure-Food Control 

Wages 

Street-Lighting 

Water-Supply of Cities 

Cityward and Countryward Move- 
ments 

Contagious Diseases ; 

Cooperative Buying and Selling .... 

Hospitals 

Minimum Wage 

Stock Exchange 

Freedom of Speech 

Copyrights and Patents 

Child Labor 

Unemployment 

Cost of Living 

Tuberculosis 

Insurance 



Professor Robinson intimates that it is possible to 
make such a selection of material "from the boundless 



106 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

wealth of the past" as will be peculiarly enlightening 
to a particular group of children, and he also suggests of 
what this material should consist if intended for chil- 
dren in the industrial schools. 

In determining what topics should be included in a 
history course for pre vocational children, the teachers 
of the experimental classes, noted in the preface, have 
been guided, first, by "the needs, capacity, interests, 
and future career of the boys"; second, by the fact 
that an extremely limited amount of time was available; 
and third, by their opinions, clarified by careful and 
sympathetic experimentation, as to the most fruitful 
lessons which the past holds for the coming industrial 
workers of the country. While the topics may not agree 
closely with those suggested by Professor Robinson, it 
is believed that the plan, as a whole, well illustrates the 
principle of selection which he sets forth so clearly. 

It has been noted previously that certain subjects, 
heretofore reserved for high school or even for college, 
have been given to pre vocational classes. Of course 
they have been simplified and made concrete and have 
been brought within the comprehension of those chil- 
dren. One such subject is history and another is econom- 
ics. The two in their interrelation form an eminently 
practical and a truly cultural study for prevocational 
pupils. In other words, these children should know 
something of history, but the particular phases of 
history which will be of genuine value to them are not 
the political or the military phases, nor even the indus- 
trial phases, narrowly considered, but those which tell of 
the relation of the worker to his work and to the rest 
of society. It is that history which tells of the methods 
by which the worker has maintained himself in life and 



HISTORY 107 

has raised his class out of slavery to full citizenship. In 
this connection the teacher should not fail to consult 
the enlightening article by Professor Andrew Cunning- 
ham McLaughlin, Head of the Department of History 
of the University of Chicago, noted under general ref- 
erences on page 132. It is worthy of note that the 
American Federation of Labor has stated officially that 
industrial schools should teach the children, between 
fourteen and sixteen years of age, a sound system of 
"economics," including the theory of collective bar- 
gaining. The history, then, which is appropriate for 
these children, is economic history and might well be 
entitled "A History of Work and Workers." 

The Manhattan Trade School considers it necessary 
to include such instruction in its course of study, the 
subject being entitled simply "Industrial Conditions." 
The principal of the school, in commenting on the 
course, says : — 

This course is designed to awaken in pupils an intelligent 
interest in industrial questions, and to acquaint them with 
the factory laws in such a way that they shall feel their re- 
sponsibility in helping to enforce them. 

In order to give largeness of view, several talks are given 
on industrial history, starting with primitive forms of industry 
and leading up to the introduction of machinery which brought 
about the industrial revolution. 

A discussion of the industrial revolution and its effects 
shows how the need for factory laws arose, and these laws are 
then taken up for study. Copies of the abstract posted in the 
factories are procured from the department of factory in- 
spection, and those portions which relate to conditions the 
pupils will meet in trade are read and discussed, and sugges- 
tions are made as to ways in which workers can help in en- 
forcing the laws. 

Following this work comes a reading and study of some 
simple article explaining the principles of trade unions, with 



108 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

the twofold purpose of familiarizing the pupils with those 
principles and interesting them in literature along the lines of 
industrial problems. 

As an additional step a brief sketch is given showing the 
nature of the work done by such organizations as the Con- 
sumers' League and the National Association for Labor Leg- 
islation in their efforts to improve industrial conditions. 

The outline given below forms the basis for the 
work : — 

1. Primitive industries. 

2. The industrial revolution. 

3. Factory laws. 

4. Trade unions. 

5. The Consumers' League, etc. 

In the preceding chapter it was shown that a study of 
industrial hygiene led inevitably to the conclusion that 
the lives of workmen are held more sacred year by year, 
and that greater efforts are constantly being made to 
conserve their interests. This fact, once established, may 
be taken as a starting-point for the study of "Economic 
History.'' In other words, the study of history in the 
prevocational class should be addressed to the problem 
of making clear to the children the social value of the 
workman as a human being. It must be shown that all 
other factors may be improved without advancing the 
interests of the workers at all. Such factors, for example, 
as cheaper raw materials of industry; better means of 
distribution; the fuller development of automatic ma- 
chinery; the elimination of waste material or waste 
time; — all these and other improvements might be 
brought about without essentially changing the lot of 
the masses of workmen. It cannot be denied that much 
of the instruction given in the schools under the name 



HISTORY 109 

"Industrial History" entirely ignores the workman him- 
self and merely relates to the wonderful development 
of modern industrial methods and the enormous in- 
crease in material commodities resulting therefrom. It 
should also be shown that unless the workers succeed in 
getting for themselves their share of the increasing 
benefits, at every stage of industrial progress, these 
benefits will certainly go, in large measure, to the capi- 
talistic class. 

By making "the progress of the worker" the domi- 
nant factor in the course a vital element common to all 
times will be established, which element will serve to 
hold together and to relate all phases of history provided 
the study should be continued beyond the prevocational 
class. Professor Frank T. Carlton, in his History and 
Problems of Organized Labor , says: — 

For indefinite centuries men have been seeking for the solu- 
tion of various problems relating to the toilers. Students of 
ancient history have disclosed the struggles of the plebeian or 
slave class against the patrician or ruling class centuries be- 
fore the Christian era. The labor problem is a problem of all 
nations, of all peoples and of all centuries. The factors change, 
but the problem remains. History is really a story of the 
struggle of the mass upward; true history is a chronicle of 
the relations of man to man in the struggle for existence 
and the subdual of natural forces. 

The purpose of the following course, therefore, is to 
give the children an elementary appreciation of the 
various steps in the upward progress of the worker, and 
especially an understanding of the organizations of 
labor and of capital as they exist to-day, to the end that 
such study may ultimately produce workmen who will 
have a clear knowledge of their own conditions, their 
own rights, and their own duties. A brief outline 
follows: — 



110 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 



INTRODUCTION 

The course starts with an exposition of the more 
obvious features of present-day industrial conditions in 
order to develop a strong personal and practical interest 
in the study of the economic phases of history. These 
present-day features are as follows : The factory system 
of production and the saving effected by it; the modern 
methods of scientific management; the plan of organi- 
zation of different business concerns, as, for example, 
the firm and the corporation; the relative advantages 
of working for each; the reasons for the corporation; 
the reasons for trade unions and for labor unions; and 
the relation of capital and labor. 

II 

THE STRUGGLE UP FROM SLAVERY 

The next step is to outline the history of the masses 
as the workers have progressed through the following 
stages : — 

(a) Slavery resulting from conquest of the weaker tribe by 
the stronger. 

(b) Slavery as a condition of birth. The slave class. 

(c) Essential features of feudalism and the condition of the 
land slaves. 

(d) The evolution of the craftsman and his emancipation 
through skill. 

(e) The craft guilds; apprentices, journeymen, masters; the 
employers and employed frequently in the same guild. 

(/) The rapid development of the factory method of pro- 
duction with its specialization, large-scale production, 
automatic machinery, child and woman labor. These 
methods of production had the effect of forcing down 
wages and of glutting the labor market, thereby reduc- 
ing large numbers of workmen to a new kind of slavery. 



HISTORY 1H 

III 
ORGANIZED LABOR 

The development of organized labor in America, 
with its principles, problems, and history, is then taken 
up as a means of studying the methods by which the 
worker is raising himself again, this time from an eco- 
nomic slavery to an economic freedom. This concludes 
with a brief mention of labor in politics with a discus- 
sion of the extent to which such movements have bene- 
fited the worker. 

IV 

CIVICS OR THE WORKER AS A CITIZEN 

The worker as a member of a labor organization sinks 
his identity. As a citizen he should stand as an indi- 
vidual. This conception introduces a brief study of 
civics in its more personal relations. 

Some objection may be made to the above outline on 
the ground that it seems to omit many fundamentals 
of United States history which all children should be 
taught. In working out the details of the course it will 
be found that, if there is enough time, ample oppor- 
tunity is afforded for all necessary features of such 
history throughout the last half of the course. For 
example, early American history may be introduced as 
a part of Section II, beginning at (e). This would in- 
clude a study of the industries of the colonial period, 
the condition of apprentices in New England, and the 
economic reasons for negro slavery in the South. Ample 
material for this will be found in chapters II and III 
of Carlton's History and Problems of Organized Labor. 
Where there is a reasonable hope that the children are 



112 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

to remain in school for a sufficient time, and where a 
genuine interest has been secured, such excursions into 
the more general phases of United States history should 
undoubtedly be made, but the paramount importance 
of the development of industrial and social intelligence 
should always be kept clearly in mind. There are sev- 
eral history textbooks to-day which give some attention 
to the factors which this course makes central and para- 
mount, and these books can be used with great advan- 
tage. One such, for example, is History of the United 
States, by Bourne and Benton, which under such titles 
as "Immigration," "Indentured Servants," "Colonial 
Industries," etc., contains much interesting and perti- 
nent material. 1 

The remaining pages of this chapter deal with the 
elaboration of the four sections of the subject as out- 
lined above. Section I is introductory and also illus- 
trates the method of presentation. Section II indicates 
the kind of facts which have proved interesting to pre- 
vocational classes. Sections III and IV discuss in more 
detail the specific purpose of the instruction given, to- 
gether with brief topical outlines of the subjects treated, 
and reference to sources of material. 

I 

INTRODUCTION 

What is history? 

Why should we study history? 

Besides the pleasure it gives us to know the story of 
how the civilized world has grown, and the help it gives 
us in understanding what is happening to-day, it also 
helps us to decide what we ought to do ourselves. 

1 See specific references at close of chapter. 



HISTORY 113 

Some day we shall vote. A knowledge of history ought 
to help us to vote right. One may be elected to a public 
office. In that case history should teach one how to be a 
more efficient officer. 

But all of us have to work, and a knowledge of history 
really ought to make it possible for us to work more suc- 
cessfully, and to choose better what kind of work to do. 
Why? 

Who did most of the work in the South before the Civil War? 

Who did most of the work in ancient Greece? 

Did these men decide what kind of work they would do or 
for whom they would work? Why? 
Because they were slaves. 

What is a slave? 

Who does most of the work in Chicago to-day? 
We all work. 

Do most of us decide what we shall do and for whom we 
shall work? 

In theory, yes. The wiser, stronger, better-trained 
men and women do choose to a large extent. 

Why? 

Because we are not slaves. 

Can those who work in the large factories decide from day 
to day what they will do? Why not? 

When and how did it happen that workingmen became 
freemen instead of slaves? Would you like to know? 
History of the right kind will tell you. Shall we study it 
some day? 

When you go to work would you like to decide what you will 
do and for whom you will work? 

If you had the opportunity to choose would you know how? 

Would you rather work for an individual, a firm, or a cor- 
poration? 

What is a firm and what does partnership mean? 

What is a corporation? 

Can you bring to class next week the names of some (A) 
individuals who are in business and who employ others; 
(B) firms; (C) corporations? 

"A" is generally written thus — J. Jones, Hair-Cut- 
ting. "B " thus, — Jones & Smith, or Jones, Smith & Co. 



114 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

"C" thus, — The Jones, Smith Company; The Chicago 
Telephone Company. 

Will you ask your fathers, brothers, and sisters who are 
at work whether they work for individuals, 6rms or cor- 
porations? 

How long have there been such things as industrial cor- 
porations? 

Not many years, hardly more than two or three gen- 
erations. The very large corporations are sometimes 
called Trusts. 

Why did men think of forming corporations? 

The chief reason was that the production was getting 
to be on a larger and larger scale and few individuals 
could get money enough of their own to build and equip 
the plants, so they organized corporations, under charters 
from the State, and sold "shares" of stock. With the 
money thus secured they built factories and ran the busi- 
ness. The profits are divided among the "stockholders" 
in proportion to the number of shares they own. Thus 
large scale production made the corporation necessary, j 

What is the advantage to the community of large scale, 
factory production? 
It lowers the cost. 

Would it be interesting to know how, little by little, business 
and industry grew to its present state? 

Will that help us to see how it will still further develop? 

Is factory work and business under corporation form on the 
increase? 

More than one third of the wage-workers in the manu- 
facturing industries of Illinois work for corporations 
which produce more than one million dollars worth of 
goods every year. 

Before we go back to study the early days of industry, 
we ought to talk a little about the present times, and such 
facts as the foregoing help us to understand. Perhaps you 
can bring to class some interesting things about working 
conditions to-day. 

Are there more men directing the corporations or more men 
working for corporations? 

Which ones get the most money? Which have the most 
power? 



HISTORY 115 

What do you know about "capital" and "labor"? This is 
a large question, but we must know some things about 
these terms and what they stand for. Capitalists control 
their own and other people's money. 
Why do workmen "organize," that is, "form unions"? 

It becomes necessary to do so because the corporation 
is a combination of capital, and labor must "combine" 
to hold its own. 
Would you like to study a little about "labor unions" later? 
Bring to class any information about them which you 
can obtain from relatives or friends, especially those in 
unions. 

II 

THE STRUGGLE UP FROM SLAVERY 1 

In telling about the life and progress of an individual 
we might describe what he did day by day or we might 
show what he had achieved at different stages in his 
development. For example, we could describe him 
when, as a boy of six years, he first went to school. We 
might next see him when, at fourteen, he graduated 
from the elementary school and debated the question 
as to whether he would go to high school or go to work. 
Let us say that he took a two-year vocational course 
and that we find him at sixteen taking his first job. 
At twenty-one we see him, now a man, casting his first 
vote. At thirty he has perhaps just accomplished some 
worthy thing for which he has been working for years. 
Many years later we may see him, toward the close of 
life, looking back over it all and advising the younger 
men as to what things in life he had found satisfying. 

In telling about the progress of the worker through 

the centuries we shall adopt this method and shall show 

his condition at six different periods of his development, 

1 The following is not intended to be read by the class or to the 
class, but is merely suggestive to the teacher. 



116 PRE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

remembering that many years or even centuries have 
passed between one stage and the next. 

But first we may well ask the question, "Why are 
there those who have to work hard all the time and 
others who apparently do little or no laborious work?" 
Human nature seems to be such that few will do dis- 
agreeable work of any kind if they can make others do 
it for them. Furthermore, while there is always a better 
and an easier way of doing any kind of laborious work, 
the better way has almost always been "invented" or 
devised by the one actually engaged in doing the work. 
This requires ability and intelligence, and it seems that 
for many centuries men of ability apparently used their 
intelligence to get away from work by forcing the less 
able to do it for them. Thus a working-class was firmly 
established. Throughout the history of the world, there- 
fore, masses of men and women have been compelled 
to do the hard, dull, disagreeable, dangerous work, — 
compelled in different ways, but always compelled. Do 
you know any of the different ways by which this com- 
pulsion has been exercised? 

Another illustration of the fact that the weaker were 
obliged to do the drudgery may be found in the prac- 
tice of the Indian "braves" who did the hunting and 
compelled their women to do the "work." If the 
women had been the stronger it might have been other- 
wise. 

The six stages in the progress of the worker will be 
clearly understood by us if we talk over together the fol- 
lowing facts and add to them from our own general 
knowledge and from what we can read in a few books. 1 

1 Thurston's Economics and Industrial History will supply the 
necessary minimum for parts 3 to 6. 



HISTORY 117 

1 

The Slave by Conquest 
Perhaps the first slavery, as we think of slavery to- 
day, was when one small tribe fought with and con- 
quered another and weaker tribe, and then compelled 
the conquered tribe to do their menial work for them, 
killing those who would not. The ancient Greeks and 
Romans had numerous slaves of this kind, men who 
were born free but were " thrown into slavery.' ' 

The Slave Class 

Little by little, however, there was developed a 
slave class. Children were "born into slavery" and 
educated to service. The most familiar example to us 
in the United States, of course, is the condition of negro 
slavery before the Civil War. Perhaps more interesting 
illustrations can be drawn from the history of Greece 
and Rome, where many of the slaves were of very 
superior peoples, the equal intellectually of their 
masters. 

3 
Feudalism 

Feudalism grew up under government too weak to 
preserve that order which the state should insure to all 
its citizens. As the government could not give this 
protection, the strongest men, called in England earls, 
barons, and lords, with their soldiers and followers, 
were called upon by weak freemen and small land- 
owners to accept their service and, in return, to give 
them protection. That is, the one asking for protection 
became, to a certain extent, a kind of slave. There were 



118 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

different classes among the people who acknowledged 
"fealty" to the lords, but the conditions of those who 
tilled the soil were most nearly those of slavery as we 
know it. As illustrating the conditions of the serfs of 
the feudal system we may well take as example the 
villeins on the manors of England. 1 

Of course this kind of "serfdom'' or slavery varied 
in the different parts of Europe and in different cen- 
turies. 2 



Freedom through Craftsmanship 

During the so-called "Home Period" individuals, 
while doing all the work required of the serf or villein, 
still had a little time to work for themselves. Again, 
these individuals sometimes developed special ability in 
some one craft. Thurston notes this in an interesting 
way by calling attention to several English names which 
clearly indicate this fact. While all had to be farmers, 
some became known as Carpenter, Baker, Butcher, 
Smith, etc., because they had become especially pro- 
ficient in the craft in question. Suggest other names: 
Weaver, Webber, Mason, Fisher, Wheeler, Taylor, 
Tyler, etc. 

In process of time the craftsman came to devote all 
his time to his trade. It also developed that these crafts- 
men gathered in towns where work could be found, 
since now the work was not done directly for the con- 
sumer. As the man became a craftsman instead of a 
farmer he was less restricted in his movements from 

1 See Thurston, pp. 52 to 55. 

2 Note the date as given by Thurston for this English example. 
William Hard says that " in 1807 two thirds of the inhabitants of 
Prussia were serfs, bound to the soil." 



HISTORY 119 

place to place, though he was still subject to many 
regulations which do not exist for workmen to-day. 1 
He was much less a slave to a master, though he might 
be a slave of " circumstances.' ' 

The craft guilds imposed regulations, but the work- 
man was a member of the guild and so had something 
to do with making these regulations. On the whole we 
may say that through the skilled craft the workman 
finally became a freeman. 



The Worker and the Guild 

How for a time the skilled worker maintained him- 
self as a freeman, during the early days of the wage 
system, must be studied in the guilds. There is much 
that may be said about them, but, for our particular 
study, — i. e., the rise from slavery to freedom, — it is 
most interesting and pertinent to note the discussion 
given in Thurston on page 77. This shows that the 
skilled workman was, to a considerable extent, "his 
own master." It also shows that this condition cannot 
last long, since it has in it the seeds of its own destruc- 
tion. It also shows us why, and indicates that strength 
for labor can be permanent only by making it equal with 
capital. Although his position is not to last long our 
skilled workman is free. Has he, with the capitalist, 
forgotten the unskilled and the learners? Is this his 
weakness? 

6 

Conditions leading to a New Slavery 
The conditions which eventually broke down the 
advantage thus far gained by the skilled worker were 
1 Thurston, p. 176. 



120 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

specialization, large-scale production, and automatic 
machinery which utilized unskilled labor, including the 
labor of children and women. 

• These resulted in an over-supplying of labor, thus 
forcing down wages, making work irregular or uncertain, 
narrowing the "margin of safety," to say nothing of 
comfort, making the worker dependent on the capitalist 
for "the opportunity and the right to work," and ac- 
tually producing, for many thousand people even in 
this rich country, what the socialists call "wage- 
slavery." 

This leads directly to the history and problems of 
organized labor, the purpose of which is again to enable 
the worker to struggle up, with a larger percentage of 
all workers, including this time, let us hope, not merely 
the highly skilled, but all who can be helped by standing 
together for the good of all. 

Ill 

ORGANIZED LABOR 

The purpose of discussing organized labor with these 
boys is to emphasize the general efficacy of organization 
in social and industrial activities and to develop a more 
discriminating attitude toward that particular kind 
of organization adopted by wage earners, that is, the 
labor unions. It is believed that children of the pre- 
vocational type and age should be taught some simple 
facts and principles which will enable them to interpret 
more intelligently the loosely expressed public opinion 
relating to the labor question and which will give them 
a basis for judgment about a matter not far removed 
from their present interest. 

It should be recalled that the general public seldom 



HISTORY 121 

takes any vital interest in labor organizations except in 
times of labor disputes. At such times the public fre- 
quently suffers some discomfort and its judgment is 
warped accordingly. It is therefore quite common to 
hear indiscriminate criticism of labor unions in general 
because of the unlovely aspect of some phases of organ- 
ization which develop during prolonged and bitter 
strikes. This tendency to unfavorable criticism of the 
unions is still further strengthened because the capitalist 
employer more easily gets his facts and opinions before 
the public. All this is unfortunate, as it tends to create 
a support of unionism which is equally prejudiced and 
unthinking. For these reasons it seems desirable to 
begin the discussion of labor organization with a con- 
sideration of the case against the unions. 

This should be followed by a statement favorable to 
unionism, showing the nature and the purposes of or- 
ganization, and the whole should conclude with a brief 
sketch of the growth of unionism in the United States, 
showing especially the broadening conception from 
isolated "trade" unions to federated "labor" unions. 
It will be found worth while to make a study of certain 
locals known to members of the class. A discussion of 
the building-trades unions is interesting in almost any 
locality. Some facts about apprenticeship, its history and 
present requirements, are naturally evolved from this 
work and make a strong vocational appeal to the boys. 

A brief topical outline follows : — 

The Case against the Unions 

1. Unfair discrimination in limiting membership in the 
union and the number of apprentices. 

2. Submission to unwise and self-interested leaders within 
the union. 



122 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

3. Limitation, to an unjustifiable degree, of the amount to 
be accomplished in a day's work. 

4. Occasional unjust demands when in complete control of 
the situation. 

5. Unnecessary strikes involving innocent parties. 

6. Picketing and the violence sometimes resulting therefrom. 

7. Sympathetic strikes which involve the breaking of con- 
tracts. 

8. Destruction of property in carrying on strikes. 

9. Ban on prison labor. 

The above may be discussed from three points of 
view, — injustice toward the public; injustice toward 
the employer; injustice toward fellow- workmen out- 
side the union, and sometimes toward union members 
who disagree. 

Needs and Purposes of Labor Unions 

1. Labor organization is necessary to counterbalance capi- 
tal organization as typified in corporations and employ- 
ers' associations. 

2. A union can give an effective expression of the opinions 
and needs of its members, and to some extent of the 
masses. 

3. The individual wage-earner cannot treat successfully 
with his organized employer, capital frequently repre- 
senting many employers, though managed by a few 
directors. 

4. It is necessary to bargain collectively about wages, hours, 
and employment conditions of labor, and is as justifiable 
as for a wage-earner to bargain individually about the 
labor he sells. 

5. A continuous and strong organization of workers is nec- 
essary to procure and maintain suitable employment 
conditions for its members. 

6. The unions protect the employer against some bad prac- 
tices growing out of competition in the industrial world. 

7. Many unions promote social activities, educational im- 
provement, and the establishment of sick benefits. 



HISTORY 123 

Presentation of the above material should show 
clearly that unions cannot be strong from their begin- 
ning, but must grow, and that society should be patient 
with them through the early stages of their develop- 
ment. 

Historical Sketch 

1. Name, date, and place of a few of the earliest trade 
unions. 

2. Some statement regarding the size of their membership. 

3. Date of the first "federation" and some statement of 
the present extent of the American Federation of Labor. 

4. Statement regarding the Industrial Workers of the 
World. 

Results 
The work should conclude with a discussion of the 
results achieved by organized labor, such as the secur- 
ing of better working conditions and wages, shorter 
hours, improved child labor and compulsory education 
laws, and a growing tendency on the part of capital 
to " recognize " the union. 

REFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER 

The Labor Question. Washington Gladden. Pilgrim Press. 
(Suggestive of the idealism of organized labor.) 

History and Problems of Organized Labor. Frank Tracy Carl- 
ton. D. C. Heath & Company. p age 

Guild system 16 

Shoemakers' Union at Boston, First American 

Guild, 1648 (Colonial Period) 16 

Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers, 

Pennsylvania, 1794 (Revolutionary Period) 16 
(First American trade union.) 
First Trades Union, Pennsylvania, 1827 (Pe- 
riod of War of 1812) 30 

(An association of trade unions.) 



124 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Knights of St. Crispin (Shoemakers), New 

York, 1867 (Civil War Period) 65-66 

("First great protest of American work- 
men against abuse of machines.") 
Knights of Labor, Pennsylvania, 1869 (Origi- 
nally garment workers) 71-74 

(An amalgamation of workers.) 

American Federation of Labor, 1881 74-82 

Industrial Workers of the World, 1905 82-84 

Employers' Associations 85-93 



IV 

CIVICS FOR THE WORKER 

A complete study of civics is not contemplated. The 
work given is merely intended to create an interest, on 
the part of the potential worker, in such phases of the 
subject as will reveal to him something of his personal 
responsibility to society. 

Two points are emphasized especially, — first, what 
the worker can do to promote civic progress, and 
second, what the worker should know about civic 
organization. Under the first point are discussed the 
worker's rights, powers, and duties, and the way in 
which he may exercise them. Special emphasis is laid 
on the fact that some of these duties may be entered 
upon even while the individual is a schoolboy. Under 
the second point are considered those things which 
society has done specifically for the protection and 
advancement of the worker. 

The work is planned on the assumption that the pupil 
will build best upon his personal experiences and that 
an awakened interest in his own relations to society 
is of far more value to the worker than a mere knowl- 
edge of the details of civil government. The course, 



HISTORY 125 

therefore, draws largely on such material as the chil- 
dren can investigate for themselves, though an attempt 
is made to lead out to civic activities in general. 

The subject may well be introduced by some review 
work in hygiene and sanitation, showing sanitation to 
be a civic duty. The following topics have been used 
successfully with prevocational boys and have fur- 
nished excellent lessons for stimulating the practical 
exercise of their civic duty : — 

Smoke laws. Tuberculosis. 

Ventilation. Milk supply. 

The fly. A clean city. 

Following is an outline adapted from a bulletin issued 
by the Woman's City Club, of Chicago, and used in 
presenting the first of these topics, together with a brief 
discussion of the methods employed and the results ob- 
tained: — 

The Smoke Nuisance 

1. Reduction of smoke in the city of Chicago during the 
last eight years was shown by diagrams representing two 
chimneys labeled as follows : — 

1907 — 100% smoke. 

1915 — 37% smoke. 

Result — 63% reduction since 1907. 

2. Extracts from smoke law: — 

For stationary plants : — Smoke may not be emitted 
for more than six minutes every hour. 

For tugs and locomotives in motion: — Dense smoke 
may not be emitted for more than one minute every 
hour. 

3. Proportions of dense smoke issuing in city : — 

Miscellaneous power plants 54% 

Locomotives 27% 



126 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Central district 8% 

Flat buildings 5% 

Private residences 4% 

Boats 2% 

4. Suggestions for reduction of smoke: — 

Electrify railroads. 

Use hard coal on boats. 

Heat by gas or coke. 

Establish central power and heating plants. 

Demand intelligent methods of firing. 

5. Loss to city: — 

Health. 
Property. 
Cost of labor. 
Fuel combustion. 

The outlines were entered in notebooks and various 
bulletins and diagrams were made by the pupils. 
Visits were made to the City Hall for information. 
One pupil called at the office of the City Smoke In- 
spector and secured a large amount of material, includ- 
ing charts, curves, maps, reports, and official blanks. 
On the boy's invitation, the Assistant Inspector gladly 
visited the school and delivered a lecture, well illus- 
trated by lantern slides. 

Several children became sufficiently interested to use 
the official blanks, reporting in class and to the City 
Smoke Department cases of violation of the smoke 
ordinance. They also collected news items, cartoons, 
and editorials relating to the problem, clipped from 
magazines and the daily papers. 

In addition to giving the pupils some conceptions of 
what they may do to promote social welfare, it is 
desirable, as noted above, to teach them a few ele- 
mentary facts regarding political organization and some 



HISTORY 127 

of the laws which have been enacted with special refer- 
ence to the worker. Organized society has evolved, 
through years of experience, the several organizations 
with which we are all so familiar, but which should be 
brought to the attention of the children. Among others 
may be mentioned the following: — 

City. The water system. 

Wards. The school system. 

Taxes. Franchises. 

City officials and their duties. Political parties. 

Fire department. The ballot. 

All of this work should be taken up quite simply, and 
generous use should be made of maps of the city and its 
wards, and bulletins and pictures issued by the various 
departments. Diagrams especially appeal to these 
boys. As an example may be cited the simple device of 
illustrating, by a divided circle, the distribution of the 
city's taxes. An interview with any city official does 
much to make the business of running the city seem real 
to the pupils. 

The consideration of laws passed by society to pro- 
tect the worker may be introduced by reference to the 
"safety-first" movement. It will be recalled that this 
movement grows naturally out of the discussion of social 
hygiene, and also from the study of economic history. 
The course in civics, therefore, may conclude with brief 
references to a number of these movements, such, for 
example, as the following: — 

The promotion of workmen's compensation laws. 

Child labor laws. 

Study of unemployment. 

Establishment of a Vocational Guidance Bureau. 

Establishment of the Juvenile Court. 



128 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

The outline of the first of these topics is given here- 
with: — 

The Workmen's Compensation Law 

The material has been organized in two parts. The 
first part deals with the primary purpose of the law and 
shows something of what has been accomplished; the 
second part consists of a study of the basic principle of 
the law. 

I. The 'primary 'purpose is prompt compensation for injury 
(Extracts from what has been accomplished in Illinois.) 
1. Table of compensation rates in Illinois. 



Percentage Number 

of wage of weeha 



Loss of member 

Thumb 50 60 

First finger 50 35 

Second finger 50 30 

Third finger 50 20 

Fourth finger 50 15 

First phalange (one half of finger 

loss) 50 

Two phalanges (one finger loss) . 50 

Great toe 50 30 

Any other toe 50 10 

One hand 50 150 

One arm 50 200 

One foot 50 125 

One leg 50 175 

One eye 50 100 

2. Rates of compensation a necessity in order to guard 
against dishonesty and abuses of compensation laws. 

3. List of occupations in which compensation is allowed for 
injury. 

4. Extent and growth of workmen's compensation meas- 

ures. 
Forty-one foreign countries, including all European 



HISTORY 129 

countries excepting Turkey, and twenty-four States 
of the United States, have compensation laws. 

In the United States twenty-seven commissions, not in- 
cluding federal, have been appointed since 1910 to 
work on the matter. 

New York was the first State to enact compensation 
laws. This action was taken in 1910. 

Illinois enacted laws in 1911 and again in 1913. 

//. The basic principle is that loss through accident shall be 
made a charge upon industry 

1. Losses incident to industrial activities. 

a. Employer bears loss in capital. 

b. Workman loses life or limb and money, the latter 
in wages and doctor's bills. 

2. Ways of dealing with injury other than by legal com- 

pensation. 

a. Liability insurance. 

$22,000,000 was paid by employers to liability 
insurance companies in 1908 to carry their accident 
risks. 

$5,500,000 finally reached the workmen. 

$16,500,000 ? 

b. Common law. 

Three defenses made: fault of fellow- workers; 
workman assumed risk; negligence. 

Only the latter is a reasonable defense. The two 
first are unfair to the worker, and the last is difficult 
to trace to its source and the employer is apt to 
lose through an unfair jury. 

3. Justice of law. 

The law should be: 

Liberal as may be to worker and dependents. 
Fair to employer. 

4. Extracts from model laws. 
Extracts from Illinois law. 



130 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

REFERENCES 

First Annual Report of the Industrial Board of Illinois, for the 

fiscal year ending June 30, 1914. 
Workmen's Compensation Act. Prepared by the Legislative 

Reference Bureau, Industrial Board of Illinois, 1914. 
Standards for Workmen's Compensation Laws. American 

Association for Labor Legislation, 131 East 23d St., New 
, York City, September, 1914. 

It should be noted in conclusion, that both "Hygiene 
for the Worker" and the "History of Work and Work- 
ers" lead naturally and inevitably to "Civics for the 
Worker." 

This whole subject must be treated mainly by the 
"lecture method," since little reading can be expected 
of the boys, owing both to the nature of the material 
and to the extreme difficulty of finding any connected 
presentation of it simple and brief enough to come 
within their comprehension. 

The value of the subject, however, will be all but lost 
unless the teacher can succeed in stimulating the imagi- 
nation, thus making the subject vital and vivid. This 
can be done by interpreting the "lecture method" as a 
"story-telling method" and by enriching the material 
in every possible way. The teacher should be able to 
get from the few references, given at the end of this 
article, interest and information sufficient to carry the 
work to a successful issue, provided too much is not 
demanded of the pupils. Frankly, little of the tradi- 
tional kind of reaction can be expected, but the thought- 
ful teacher will value far above this the eager and dis- 
criminating questions with which the young students of 
" economic history" ply their instructor. He will prob- 
ably be unable to answer all these questions, but so 



HISTORY 131 

much the better, because an entirely new relationship 
will have been established and both teacher and pupil 
have much to gain thereby. 

But of course the boys must be given something to do. 
At the beginning the principal source of information for 
the boys, aside from the "lectures," should be the people 
whom they can question outside the school, — their 
relatives and friends. It follows, therefore, that the 
school period must be given almost wholly to "story- 
telling" and "round-table" discussion. The teacher 
may be surprised at the amount and variety of informa- 
tion contributed by the boys. 

A little later the pupils can be assigned short, well- 
chosen references to read. These should be carefully 
marked and definitely limited, and should be easily 
accessible. They can be chosen from a variety of 
sources, some of which will be noted at the close of the 
chapter. 

From the beginning the pupils should keep note- 
books. The "notes," however, should be largely dic- 
tated by the teacher at the close of the general dis- 
cussion. If, in the beginning, these notes consist of but 
one question a day, together with the briefest possible 
answer, legibly written, the teacher should be satisfied. 
In this way a textbook, meager, to be sure, is built up 
little by little. The joy of the pupils as they look back 
two or three weeks and realize that they know the 
answers to the various questions is, in itself, ample 
proof that the subject is vital and that the method is 
sound. 

In place of the pupil's ability to give certain histori- 
cal facts and dates, the teacher of this kind of history 
must be glad to accept an enthusiasm for the discussion 



132 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

of the question presented and a growing interest in, 
and intelligence about, our marvelous, complicated, 
twentieth-century industrial life. When carried out as 
above suggested and by an enthusiastic teacher, such 
results may be confidently predicted. 

LIST OF GENERAL REFERENCES 
(For the teacher) 

The New History. James Harvey Robinson. Chap. v. The 

Macmillan Company. 
History and Principles of Organized Labor. Frank T. Carlton, 

D. C. Heath & Company. 
The Labor Question. Washington Gladden. The Pilgrim Press. 
The Community and the Citizen. Arthur William Dunn. 

D. C. Heath & Company. 
Preparing for Citizenship. William Backus Guitteau. Hough- 
ton Mifflin Company. 
Government and Politics in the United States. William Backus 

Guitteau. Houghton Mifflin Company. 
History of the United States. Bourne and Benton. D. C. 

Heath & Company. 
Meaning of the Civil War. Article by Andrew Cunningham 

McLaughlin, The University of Chicago. The University 

Record, July, 1915. Page 138-148. 

SPECIFIC REFERENCES 

(For the pupils) 

A School History of the United States. William H. Mace. 
Rand, McNally & Company. 

Pages 

Colonial life 95-117 

Social classes 98 

How social differences were shown 99 

Social life 100-101 

The Patroons 79 

Industrial and social development from 

Washington to Civil War 279-294 



HISTORY 133 

The New Industrial Era 415-446 

Corporations 439 

Growth of labor organizations 439 

Strikes 440-442 

Railroad and other strikes (1877-1886) 440-441 

Chicago Anarchists (1886) 441 

Homestead strike (1892) 441 

Coal strikes (1900-1902) 442 

A History of the United States. S. E. Foreman. The Century 
Company. 

Early America a place for laborers and 

work one hundred years ago 23-29 

Slaves and indentured servants 82-83 

Occupations, 1700 83 

Farm implements, 1800 179 

Inventions, manufacture, and transporta- 
tion 180-183 

Everyday life 183-184 

National roads, 1818 207 

Steamboats 207-208 

Life in Middle West (in early days) 210-212 

Development (industrial), 1820-1840 239-248 

Development (industrial), 1800-1860 298-303 

The New West 375-386 

Present-day progress 410-418 

Elementary American History and Government. Woodburn 
and Moran. Longmans, Green & Company. 

Colonial life 105-116 

Erie Canal 253 

Industrial development, 1798-1829 256-276 

Tools 257-258 

Livestock; patents 258-259 

Steam engine (1769) 259 

Manufacturing 259 

England and inventions 260 

Slater's Mill 260 

Cotton gin 260-262 

Wool, iron, hard coal 262-263 



134 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Humble inventions 263 

Commerce 263 

Shipbuilding 264 

Westward movement and Western pio- 
neering 264-269 

Fulton, steamboats, Erie Canal 270-273 

General progress 276 

Social and industrial progress, 1829 to 1865 375-389 
Canals, railroads, manufactures, discov- 
eries, etc 376-388 

Physical and economic union of the States 389 

Industrial development since Civil War .... 427-448 

Labor-saving machinery 427 

Sale of American machines 428-430 

The age of machinery 430 

Reasons for progress 430 

Agriculture, mills, manufacture 430-436 

Reasons for industrial supremacy 436-438 

Railroads, telegraph, etc 439-443 

Labor problems 444 

American Federation of Labor 444 

Employers' Associations 445 

A History of the United States. Thwaites and Kendall. Hough- 
ton Mifflin Company. 

Introduction of negro slaves 60 

Indentured servants 60 

Our country, 1849-1853 270, 271 

Economic aspect of negro slavery in the 

South 307-310, 418 

Western development 404-407 

Labor troubles, 1873-1877 407-408 

Later labor troubles 421, 433, 457, 458 

Effect of machinery on work 409 

Railway and coal strikes and unemploy- 
ment 433, 457-458 

Pure Food and Drugs Act 461 

Supplementary chapter i to ix 

(Shows industrial progress in population, 
area, wealth etc.) 



HISTORY 135 

An Elementary History of Our Country. Eva March Tappan. 
Houghton Mifflin Company. 

Early customs of New England 83-88 

(Illustration of "Home Period" of industry.) 

Patroon system 91-92 

Investigation of great corporations 246-247 

Our country to-day 250-252 

Industrial History of the United States. Katharine Coman. 
The Macmillan Company. 
Labor organization. 

First strikes 261 

Labor movement during Civil War 289 

Standard Oil Trust 327 

Organization of labor 331 

American Federation 332 

Strike statistics 333 

Criticisms 336 

Employers' Associations 337 



CHAPTER IX 

SCIENCE 

The major purpose of the work in science for pre- 
vocational boys is not to turn out scientists capable of 
doing elaborate scientific work, but to create a rudi- 
mentary interest in scientific facts and principles; to 
call attention to and explain the more obvious and 
simple phenomena which the boys meet in their daily 
surroundings; to lead the pupils to see that science 
means the substitution of real knowledge for mere guess- 
work, — the development of rational procedure in the 
place of the antiquated rule of thumb; to give an idea 
of the important part which the development of scien- 
tific knowledge has played in our modern industrial 
progress; and to give some practice in reasoning and in 
applying some of the principles of science. 

Furthermore, the work in science is so organized as 
to make a demand on the pupil for more accurate use 
of English, drawing, and mathematics. His interest in 
scientific phenomena thus serves as a correlating princi- 
ple for other school work. 

No attempt is made to cover the whole field of general 
science for the purpose of laying a foundation for future 
systematic and specialized science work. Rather such 
facts are chosen for presentation as will appeal to the 
present interests of the boys or such as seem peculiarly 
appropriate to the domestic or occupational life of 
the worker. Neither is the claim made that the facts 



SCIENCE 137 

suggested here are the only ones or even the best which 
might be selected. They are merely suggested from a 
great body of truth from which any teacher may draw 
with the testimony that they have all been worked out 
in prevocational classes and found satisfactory. Of 
course, in presenting the work to the pupils no attempt 
is made to differentiate and "classify" it as "physics" 
or "biology." The following is merely given as indica- 
tive of the range of science which the course covers : — 

Physics : 

Elementary mechanics. 
Heat and ventilation. 
Air pressure and pumps. 
Light and sound. 

Chemistry: 
Air. 
Water. 
Bleaching. 

Foods. Their fuel and nutritive values. 
Drugs and patent medicines. 
Disinfectants and preservatives. 

Biology: 

Bacteria, useful and harmful. 
Household pests. 1 

Since only a limited amount of time can be devoted 
to science, and since the purpose of giving it is slightly 
different from that which is usually urged for high- 
school science, for example, it is desirable to note the 
way in which the subject is presented, especially as 
the laboratory method is not employed. In defense of 

1 The intimate relation between the material suggested in this brief 
outline and some of the work given under "Physiology and Hygiene," 
and also under "Civics," is obvious. There is no duplication, but 
rather a reinforcement. 



138 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

the method described in the following paragraphs, it 
may be said that, as only four hours a week are de- 
voted to the subject, a science course would be rather 
unproductive if divided between laboratory work and 
classroom instruction. If the time were devoted en- 
tirely to laboratory work it is doubtful whether any 
more would be accomplished. Even if we grant that a 
few more scientific facts and principles could be learned 
through laboratory work, the proposed method more 
than compensates for any loss in this respect by the 
gain in the pupil's ability to interpret the printed page 
and to express himself in writing and in drawing. 
Moreover, the work in the shops provides considerable 
concrete information of a scientific nature. This makes 
the demand for laboratory work in science less impera- 
tive. 

A method which has been found successful is to have 
the pupils study a general science textbook and other 
supplementary material, and to make notebooks which, 
when completed, constitute illustrated textbooks cover- 
ing almost the entire work given in the subject. Dem- 
onstrations are given by the teacher to arouse interest, 
and to make the work concrete. They are such as can 
be performed with relatively little apparatus, or at 
least with such equipment as can be used in an ordinary 
classroom. 

The textbooks are used as reference books and for 
the purpose of supplementing information given by the 
teacher during the demonstrations. 

Any good textbook on general science may be used, 
but no book can be relied on as sufficient in itself. The 
teacher's presentation of the subject and his ability to 
relate it to the everyday interests of the pupils are the 



SCIENCE 139 

important factors in the problem. The following text- 
books have been found to contain satisfactory reference 
material for prevocational boys : — 

General Science. Bertha M. Clark. American Book Co. 
This book formed the basis of much of the science work with 
the Boy's Industrial Class at the University of Chicago. 

The First Year of Science. J. C. Hessler. B. J. Sanborn & Co. 
This contains good material. 

Multiple copies of direct questions, based on the text 
and on the demonstrations, are prepared and each pupil 
is supplied with a copy. The nature of these questions 
will be seen from typical illustrations which appear 
below. 

The usual classroom procedure is to begin with the 
demonstration and to follow this by the reading of 
the texts and by notebook work guided by the question 
sheets. When there is no demonstration, the teacher 
makes an assignment in which he tries to arouse a desire 
on the part of the pupils to study the text. This is fol- 
lowed by recitation work in which the pupils answer 
orally the questions on the question sheet. During 
these oral recitations, the slower pupils have an oppor- 
tunity to profit from the recitations of the brighter 
ones, and the difficulties found in the text are cleared up 
for all. Then the lesson is concluded by notebook work. 
At this point the character of the question sheets, upon 
which the notebook work is based, must be described. 
At first the questions follow the text rather closely and 
are designed to aid the pupil in mastering the text by 
focusing his attention on the main thoughts. These 
questions are so worded as to encourage the pupil to use 
his own vocabulary rather than the words found in the 
text. Often they break up the thought of a long and 



140 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

rather involved sentence into several shorter sentences, 
thus enabling the pupil to get the meaning of the para- 
graph which was obscured by the long sentence. Often 
a question is so worded that its answer involves giving 
the thought of a whole paragraph. In the early part of 
the work subordinate questions are placed under these 
major questions, to assist the pupil in formulating a 
logical and intelligent answer. A typical question of the 
latter kind follows. It is based upon a paragraph de- 
scribing how a Fahrenheit thermometer is graduated. 
The main question and its subordinates follow: — 

Q. How is a Fahrenheit thermometer graduated? 
A. Begin : — A thermometer is graduated in the following 
way : Then answer the following : — 

(a) How is the 212° mark found? 

(b) How is the 32° mark found? 

(c) How many degrees are there then between the 32° mark 
and the 212° mark? 

(d) Now, if we want each space between the melting point 
of ice and the boiling point of water to represent two 
degrees, how many spaces will there be between the 32° 
mark and the 212° mark? 

(e) How long, then, will each space be? 
(/) How is this length of space used? 

As the pupils improve in their ability to write in 
better form and reach the point where they can dispense 
with the subordinate questions, the questions follow the 
text less closely, become less specific and particular in 
character, and involve the composition of several related 
sentences, comprising a paragraph. Toward the end of 
the year's work, outlines are prepared from which the 
pupils write shorter or longer compositions on scientific 
subjects. 

Correlation between science and drawing is secured 



SCIENCE 141 

by so wording a question that it calls for graphic ex- 
pression in connection with the answer. Mathematics 
is correlated with science by inserting among the ques- 
tions problems concerning levers, the inclined plane, 
pulleys, the differential pulley, the wheel and axle, the 
screw, the lifting-jack, gears, the bicycle, the geared 
windlass, etc. These problems involve the use of the 
processes of addition, multiplication, division, and sub- 
traction of whole numbers and especially of common 
fractions and decimals. 

Practice in reasoning is afforded by inserting ques- 
tions and exercises which call for the application of 
principles found in the text. As a rule the answers to 
questions of this type are not found in the book. The 
following are samples of the exercises of this kind : — 

(a) If you were a track foreman on a railroad, what direc- 
tions would you give your gang for laying rails in the 
winter? 

(b) Why? 

(c) If you were a lineman for a telephone company, how 
would you string the wires in summer? 

(d) Why? 

(e) How does the boiler-maker take advantage of contrac- 
tion due to cooling when he rivets boiler plates together? 

In some cases, instead of following the above method, 
the inductive development lesson precedes the study of 
the text. 

While the pupils are studying the texts and answer- 
ing the questions, the instructor has an opportunity to 
give individual instruction on points which are not made 
entirely clear in the demonstration, or which the pupils 
find obscure in the text. He has also the opportunity of 
calling attention to mistakes in spelling, sentence struc- 



142 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

ture, punctuation, and erroneous answers; and to make 
suggestions in regard to the drawing. 

One feature of the instruction which, it is believed, 
accounts largely for its success, and which should be 
characteristic of all prevocational work, is that the boys 
are continually encouraged when they show the least 
interest, accomplishment, or improvement in their work, 
and are almost never told that they are doing poor or 
worthless work. Instead they are shown by example 
how they can improve, and are given the commenda- 
tion they deserve. 

A word must be said in regard to the motivation of 
the notebook work. The sources of information are 
numerous enough to prevent the boys coming to the 
conclusion that the notebook work could be made un- 
necessary through the purchase of a textbook. The 
fact is pointed out that each boy will be compiling a 
book for himself which will contain information drawn 
from many sources, the purchase of which would involve 
considerable expense. Some emphasis is laid on the fact 
that an attempt will be made to put into the notebooks 
only the most valuable information, the less valuable 
and too technical being disregarded. Special emphasis is 
laid on the fact that the boys have an opportunity to 
create something which will be of value to them; which 
they may exhibit with pride to their parents, if they 
choose to make it creditable; which will be representa- 
tive of the work of the class and which, in case of a 
school exhibit, may be shown with considerable credit 
to themselves and the class. 

Several encouraging results have been obtained. 
First, there is an added interest in reading about scien- 
tific truths, and an added ability to learn from the 



SCIENCE 143 

printed page. Second, there is the acquisition of a few 
fundamental and useful facts. Third, the work develops 
an interest in, and to some extent an understanding of, 
the scientific features of industrial processes many of 
which can be illustrated in the shopwork. Fourth, there 
is acquired by the pupil added ability to express him- 
self in writing and drawing. Fifth, the observation of 
the simple rules of punctuation and capitalization tends 
to become habitual, and the pupils become more efficient 
in the fundamental operations of arithmetic. Sixth, the 
boys frequently acquire a keen zest in writing and re- 
writing their notebooks, some of which finally reach a 
point of genuine excellence. 

The following illustrative material is planned to show 
in a concrete way how a given topic is treated, — for 
example, Heat. Under this general heading are given 
the following: — 

Introduction. 

General Effects of Heat. 

Expansion and Contraction. 

Uses of Expansion and Contraction. 

Methods of Heating Buildings. 

Ventilation. 

Methods of Transmitting Heat. 

Measuring Heat. 

Sources of Heat. 

The following questions are selected from a total of 
ninety-eight covering this general topic, and are illus- 
trative of the principles which have been described 
above : — 

HEAT 
A. Introduction 

1. Show how heat and fire do damage every day. 

2. Tell how heat is used for good purposes. 



144 TREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

B. General Effects of Heat 

1. Expansion and Contraction. 

o. Tell how you could prove that heat makes water ex- 
pand. 

(1) First tell what things you would use. 
( l 2) Then tell how you would use them. 

b. How could you show that heat makes air expand? 

c. Make up an experiment to show that heat causes ex- 
pansion. 

(1) Tell first what materials you would use. 

(2) Then tell how you would use them. 

d. How do you think things act when they are cooled? 

e. What in general may we say is the general effect of 
heat and cold? 

2. Exceptions. Heat does not always cause expansion. 

a. Does ice, for example, expand or contract when 
heated? 

b. How docs water act when cooled from 39° Fahrenheit 
to 33°? 

c. Are there any metals that contract when heated? 

C. Uses of Expansion and Contraction 

1. How does the blacksmith make use of heat to make iron 

expand? 

2. How does he make use of the contraction due to cooling? 

3. How do boiler-makers make use of contraction due to 

cooling? 

4. If you were track foreman on a railroad, what directions 

would you give for laying the rails in winter? Why? 

5. How would you order them to be laid in summer? Why? 

0. If you were lineman for a telephone company, how would 

you string the wires in summer? Why? 

7. What causes cement walks to hump and crack in summer? 

8. How could this be prevented? 

D. Methods of Heating Buildings 

1. In early times before stoves were invented, how were 

buildings heated? 

2. Explain why smoke goes up the chimney. 



SCIENCE 145 

3. Why is the open fireplace a healthful way of heating? 

4. In what respect was the stove an advance over the fire- 

place as a means of heating? 

5. What part is played by the draft or inlet of a stove? 

6. What harm is done by having the damper of the stove 

wide open all the time? 

7. Which is the better way of heating a building; by stoves 

or by a hot-air furnace? Give two reasons why you 
think as you do. 

8. Explain by means of a diagram how a hot-air furnace 

works. 

9. The hot-water heating system. 

a. What should you say led to the invention of hot-water 
heating systems? 

b. Draw a diagram of a two-room house with a hot-water 
boiler in the basement and explain how the water cir- 
culates. 

c. How does the hot water in the radiators heat the 
rooms? 

d. What does a hot-air furnace do that a hot-water heat- 
ing system does not do? 

e. How is ventilation provided for in connection with 
some hot-water heating systems? 

/. Why is ventilation necessary? 

g. In what respects are hot-water systems better than 
hot-air furnaces? 

10. The steam-heating system. 

a. Draw the cross-section of a two-room house which is 
heated by steam and explain how the system works. 

b. What device is used to prevent boilers from blowing 
up? Show how it works. 

c. In what respects is heating by steam better than heat- 
ing by hot water? 

d. On the other hand, what advantages has hot water 
over steam heating?. 

11. Make a short summary on the three ways of heating. 

Begin : We may summarize on the three ways of heat- 
ing by saying: 

a. First, give the advantages of the hot-air furnace. 

b. Then give its disadvantages. 



146 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

c. Give the good points of heating by hot water. 

d. Then tell its weak points. 

e. Close with a statement of which system you prefer. 

E. Methods of Transmitting Heat 

1. Convection. 

a. Define convection. 

b. How does the Gulf Stream illustrate the transference 
of heat by convection? 

c. Give two more examples of heat transferred by con- 
vection. 

2. Conduction. 

a. Define conduction. 

b. Give two examples of heating by conduction. 

c. Define good and poor conduction of heat. 

d. Show how poor conductors of heat are made use of. 

e. Show how good conductors are made use of. 

3. The fireless cooker. 

a. Explain the construction of the fireless cooker. (Draw 
diagram.) 

b. Upon what principle did its invention depend? 

4. Radiation. 

a. Explain radiation of heat. 

5. Describe the processes which take place when rooms are 

heated by steam. 

F. Measuring Heat 

1. Show that while the temperature of a body tells how hot 

the body is, it does not tell the amount of heat in the 
body. 

2. Tell how heat is measured. 

a. The calorie. 

b. Calculation of number of calories. 

c. The British thermal unit. 

d. Calculation of number of B. T. XL's. 

3. Specific heat. 

a. Introduction. 

b. Definition. 

c. What does the specific heat of a substance tell you? 

d. Give several examples to make this clear. 



CHAPTER X 

ENGLISH 

All agree that English is one of the essential subjects 
for prevocational classes, but there is little uniformity 
of opinion regarding the content of a course of study or 
the major and subordinate purposes which should de- 
termine the methods of teaching it. It is sometimes 
contended that so-called "Business English," consisting 
of business forms and shop correspondence, is of prime 
importance and should be made the central feature of 
the course. It is reasoned that these children may have 
but one or two years more of school work, and since 
they are backward and "anti-book" there is little or no 
hope of realizing the results for which English is usually 
taught. For many reasons this point of view is unten- 
able, and the teacher of English in a prevocational class 
should be governed by more vital considerations. It 
should be recalled that we are trying to include in all 
prevocational work the fundamentals, — the essentials 
of the traditional school work to the fullest extent possi- 
ble, and that many of the children gain a new interest 
in school life and continue for three or four years be- 
yond the compulsory school period. It will be well, 
therefore, to analyze carefully the purposes dominat- 
ing the usual school courses in English, and to deter- 
mine the extent to which such purposes apply in the 
prevocational classes. 

In the first place, it should be recalled that English 
is the only school subject which is required in each of 



148 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

the twelve years of the traditional public-school system. 
With the exception of English, almost any subject given 
in the prevocational school may be conducted as an 
initial or introductory course, but not so with English. 
Here the fact must be recognized that the children 
come to the work with such prejudices and predilec- 
tions as have been engendered by seven or eight years 
of schoolroom practice. So far as accomplishment is 
concerned, nothing can be taken for granted beyond 
the merest rudiments, yet it is fatal to conclude that the 
ordinary primary or elementary methods may be em- 
ployed. It is probable that prevocational children differ 
more widely in their ability and training in English than 
in any other school subject. 

As noted above, English is the one required twelve- 
year course. The makers of English courses have 
apparently decided just what should be accomplished 
in each of the twelve years on the supposition that all 
pupils will complete the twelve grades. Therefore an 
analysis of the purposes of the full twelve-year course 
is pertinent as a basis for determining what may be 
attempted in the prevocational class. 

Reduced to their simplest forms these purposes seem 
to be as follows : — 

To secure mere literacy, — the mastery of the funda- 
mental mechanics of reading. 

To develop power of expression by means of oral and 
written language. 

To impart knowledge about the structure and form 
of the language. 

To develop an appreciation for good literature. 

To give information about English and American 
authors and their works. 



ENGLISH 149 

Another purpose which is worthy of special comment 
is the development of the ability to " handle books," as in 
research work and in the general use of the library, — to 
get on familiar and friendly terms with the printed page. 

It has generally been assumed, however, that this 
latter purpose, this ability to handle books, would result 
naturally and inevitably from the English work, — that 
it was, in fact, an assured by-product, and that no 
special attention need be given to its cultivation. 

It may now be asked which of these purposes are 
possible of realization and are peculiarly appropriate 
for the pupils in question. 

We may assume literacy, the mere ability to read, 
though the "near-illiterate" is a decided problem in 
prevocational work. The majority of the pupils can 
read and a small proportion can read excellently. 

Assuming literacy, what has been described above as 
a by-product will be found to be the prime motive for 
prevocational English. In no other respect is the need 
of the children so great as for the ability to interpret 
the printed page as a vital message, and in no other 
way can their highest and permanent advancement be 
secured so certainly as by developing such ability. 

Technical grammar and history of literature should be 
excluded from our consideration except as they may be 
taken up with individual pupils where special interest 
has been developed. 

With the foregoing as a background the purposes of a 
course in English for a prevocational class may be re- 
stated as follows : — 

The first purpose is to develop a genuine fondness for 
books of some kind, and a desire to read as a means of 
recreation. 



150 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

The second purpose should be to bring to the pupils 
some realization of the dependence of the civilized world 
on books, — not merely literary works, but informa- 
tional works as well, — and to show them that the abil- 
ity to handle books will contribute to their own success, 
the purpose being to induce them to read for informa- 
tion. 

A third purpose is the development of the power of 
oral and written expression, through class discussions, 
descriptions, and oral reading, the latter by those only 
who can read well, and by means of transcriptions, and 
the written exercises required in the other subjects, in- 
cluding some work in spelling. 

A fourth purpose is the development of aesthetic ap- 
preciation, not of literature merely, but of any worthy 
and beautiful thing of which literary men and women 
have written and in which an initial interest has been 
aroused in the minds of the children. The major purpose 
is to develop idealism and a love of the beautiful, but 
care must be taken that the teacher does not substitute 
his own joy for that of the pupil. 

Stated still more briefly, prevocational English should 
have for its most important purpose the development 
of the reading habit, and the reading should have for its 
object recreation, information, and inspiration, with a 
valuable by-product in greater power of expression. Out 
of these various statements of purpose must be evolved 
the content and method of the course. 

For obvious reasons it is impossible to outline a course 
of study in English for prevocational boys with the 
same definiteness, singleness of purpose, and inclusive- 
ness as is possible in the case of science, civics or history. 
For that reason the methods which have been found sue- 



ENGLISH 151 

cessf ul in accomplishing the several purposes, as enumer- 
ated above, will be considered separately and in direct 
relation to the particular purpose under discussion. It 
is evident that no single lesson can be carried out with- 
out combining two or more of the several purposes. That 
is to say, it will be impossible to develop reading for 
entertainment without at the same time increasing the 
pupil's ability to read for information. A much clearer 
conception of the methods will be possible, however, if 
each purpose is examined independently. 

It is well to reflect, also, that the individual teacher 
must be guided in his practice by the conditions of his 
own school, and that these conditions must determine, 
to a great extent, which purpose shall be paramount and 
which shall be secondary and contributary. Where all 
conditions warrant, it will help materially to divide the 
class into two or three groups, according to ability in 
reading, in order that the methods may be more accu- 
rately adapted to each individual. 

In the following pages are presented suggestions 
regarding concrete material and typical schoolroom 
practices, together with a discussion of the principles 
involved. 

As has been pointed out, the near-illiterate is a prob- 
lem in many prevocational classes. With such children 
the first weeks are of great importance, and if the ini- 
tial work is tactfully carried out, the problem ceases to 
exist and the classification may be eliminated. 

Undoubtedly an initial impulse to read may be given 
in a variety of ways, depending upon the personality 
and natural interests of the teacher. The following is 
suggested because it can be carried out by any one will- 
ing to do the work incident to collecting the material, 



152 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

and because it has been found by experiment to appeal 
to a large majority of the boys. 

First, material must be provided which will secure 
and develop genuine self-activity on the part of the 
pupil; second, it must be extremely simple and straight- 
forward; and third, it must be conspicuously free from 
"childishness." 

For the above reasons "trade material" has been 
used. Such material includes manufacturers' cata- 
logues, carefully selected advertisements, and some of 
the material in trade journals. One magazine, Popular 
Mechanics, is especially valuable. As illustrative of such 
material the following publications are suggested: 

David Maydole, Hammer Maker. Published by the David 
Maydole Hammer Company, Norwich, Chenango County, 
New York. This is taken directly from Parton's Captains of 
Industry, 1 but it can be had in this form for the asking, and it 
always appeals to the boys. 

The Story of an Inland Sheet. Published by the Inland 
Galvanized Steel Company, office in First National Bank 
Building, Chicago, Illinois. 

Educational Publications of the International Harvester Com- 
pany. These are published by the Agricultural Extension De- 
partment of the company and can be secured at slight expense 
by addressing the department at the Harvester Building, 
Chicago. Some of the most helpful of these studies are The 
Story of Bread, which correlates well with the history; Engine 
Operator's Guide, which is appropriate for the classes in shop- 
work; and Trap the Fly, which reinforces some of the lessons 
in hygiene and sanitation. 

Logging by Steam. Published by the Lidgerwood Manu- 
facturing Company, Fischer Building, Chicago. 

The Illustrated London News. The only reading matter is 
that which is found beneath the illustrations. It serves as an 
illustration of terse, descriptive English and helps in develop- 
ing good oral expression as well as the reading habit. 
1 Houghton Mifflin Company. 



ENGLISH 153 

Popular Mechanics. This magazine is a universal favorite. 
It deals with live, current material, has excellent illustrations, 
and employs simple English and business and shop terms. It 
stimulates the boys not alone to verbal expression, but sug- 
gests construction in materials as well, including experimental 
work of great variety. 

Captains of Industry. By Parton. This, in common with all 
large books, makes slight appeal to the boys under discussion, 
but where the single chapters are printed in pamphlet form, 
as in the case of David Maydole, mentioned above, they are 
extremely popular. Where the school operates a printing- 
shop, separate chapters, which are appropriate for individual 
pupils or for a particular community, may be reproduced. 

In conclusion it may be said that these boys should 
have frequent opportunity to hear good reading. This 
will be discussed in another connection, but in passing 
it should be noted that experience demonstrates that 
these very boys enjoy to the full, when read by the 
teacher, such things as Stevenson's Treasure Island, 
John Fox, Jr.'s The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, 
and Dickens's Christmas Carol. 

Reading has long been held in esteem as one of the 
highest forms of entertainment. It is relatively inex- 
pensive, and books are available to-day almost any- 
where in the civilized world. When one reflects on these 
facts it is with some surprise that he recalls how little 
attention is given in the average school to the develop- 
ment of reading for enjoyment. It is probably because 
of the assumption that if the school develops literacy, 
the enjoyment will naturally and inevitably follow. 
Unfortunately this assumption has far too little basis in 
fact. It should be recalled that many of these children 
come from homes in which books are used but little, 
in which case their chief contact with reading material 
has been with school texts. While these are frequently 



154 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

interesting if read at will and for pleasure, the uses to 
which they have been put in the classes of which these 
children were members have given little pleasure and 
frequently have produced disinclination on the part of 
some pupils to have anything to do with books of any 
kind. To be sure, a few of the children are fond of books, 
but others heartily dislike them. To change this atti- 
tude of dislike into one of fondness can be done only by 
studying the individual tastes and interests of the sev- 
eral children, and by adapting the early reading to these 
individual tastes. 

The well-known librarian, John Cotton Dana, once 
said that in order to induce a community to read the 
best books, it was first necessary to provide those which 
the people wanted and which they could read easily and 
quickly, and then, gradually, to introduce the works 
they ought to have. The same is essentially true of the 
pre vocational class. To develop the reading habit with 
these boys there should be unrestrained access to a large 
and varied assortment of books and magazines, some 
of which will certainly appeal to the boys, and a liberal 
amount of school time should be devoted to the silent 
perusal of them as a part of the regular work in English. 
The familiar school practice of permitting the more 
rapid workers to "read to themselves" on the comple- 
tion of a given task ought to serve as an object lesson 
of what should be provided for all prevocational pupils 
with great frequency and regularity. 

Such reading, of course, should be supervised and 
sympathetically directed. Always holding that the 
"joy" of the pupil is to be the first consideration at 
this point, the material may be improved as rapidly and 
as markedly as is consistent with the major purpose. 



ENGLISH 155 

In this way talks about books, in the course of personal 
conferences, will become a feature of the "required 
work," and will be conducted in the time assigned to 
English. If it should be contended that such practice 
would be expensive in time and meager in results, the 
answer must be made that it is better to spend many 
hours this way, with nothing but a "love of reading* * 
as a result, than to spend the same amount of time in 
formal English work with little resulting power to use 
books and no inclination to consult them either for 
pleasure or profit. We have been led to feel that with 
these boys, at least, this reading for pleasure can be 
carried over into the field of research reading and there- 
fore that the love of reading may be the "beginning of 
wisdom." It can be accomplished with certainty when 
the purpose to do so is clearly held and wisely followed. 
Three elements are absolutely necessary, however, 
varied reading material, sympathy, and school time. 

To bring the discussion to a concrete basis it is nec- 
essary to visualize the personal element in the situation. 
We must picture the whole class of boys, not forgetting 
the type, sitting in a schoolroom for an hour, each read- 
ing silently from a different publication and upon a 
different subject. This is taking place in regular school 
time and as regular school work, yet it is varied, indi- 
vidual, and very largely self -directed. Occasionally a 
boy leaves his chair, goes to the bookcase, deposits the 
book he has been reading, and, after examining three or 
four, selects a new book or magazine and goes back to 
his place. It is surprising to find that there is so little 
waste of time, so little confusion, such eager beginning 
and such reluctant ending of the hour. 

For the successful carrying-out of such a plan certain 



156 



PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 



features are necessary. In the first place, there must be 
a variety of material, variety as to subject-matter and 
as to the kind of publications. There should be books, 
magazines, and daily papers. In addition to the trade 
material mentioned above the following list is given. 
It is not intended to be all-inclusive, but is suggestive of 
the variety and style of reading material used in some 
prevocational classes. 

PARTIAL LIST OF READING MATERIAL USED 
SHOWING VARIETY 

Books 
Machine Shop Primer. 
Four Great American Inventors. 
Hygiene for th Worker. 
How it is Made. 
Romance of Mining. 
Woodworking for Beginners. 
Stories of Useful Inventions. 
Harper s Electricity for Boys. 
With the Men Who Do Things. 
Home Experiments in Science. 
The Boy Mechanic. 
Letters and Lettering. 
The Land We Live In. 
The Boy Craftsman. 
The Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes. 
Wireless Telegraphy. 
All About Ships. 

Things a Boy Should Know About Wireless. 
Stories of Inventors. 
Heroes of Progress. 
American Inventions and Inventors. 
Historic Boyhoods. 
Stories of Industry. 
Industries of To-day. 
Geographical Readers. 
How the World is Housed. 



Colvin and Stanley. 

Perry. 

Tolman. 

Williams. 

Williams. 

Wheeler. 

Forman. 

Adams. 

Bond. 

Sloane. 

Windsor. 

Brown, F. C. 

Price. 

Hall. 

Collins. 

Fortescue. 

Darling. 

St. John 

Doubleday. 

Morris. 

Mo wry and Mowry. 

Holland. 

Am. Book Co. 

Ginn and Co. 

Carpenter. 

Carpenter. 



ENGLISH 




How the World is Fed. 


Carpenter. 


How the World is Clothea. 


Carpenter. 


Great American Industries. 


Rocheleau. 


Story of Iron and Steel. 


Smith. 


The Community and the Citizen. 


Dunn. 


Handwork in Wood. 


Noyes. 


How to Install Electric Bells. 


Schneider. 


Story of My Life. 


Keller. 


Winning Their Way. 


Faris. 


Heroes of Every Day Life. 


Coe. 


Some Successful Americans. 


Towle. 


Men of Business. 


Stoddard. 


Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous. 


Bolton. 


The Young Forester. 


Grey. 


Oxford Industrial Readers. 


Cooke. 


A Day with the Leather Workers. 




A Day in an Iron Mine. 




A Visit to a Cotton Mill. 




A Day in a Ship Yard. 




A Visit to a Coal Mine. 




A Visit to a Woolen Mill. 




Treasure Island. 


Stevenson. 


The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come. 


John Fox, Jr. 


Wild Animals I have Known. 


Seaton. 


Boys of Old Monmouth. 


Tomlinson. 


The Minute Boys of New York. 


Otis. 


Left Behind, or Ten Days a Newsboy. 


Otis. 


The Boy Sailors of 1812. 


Tomlinson. 


Wolf, the Storm Leader. 


Caldwell. 


Captain of the Crew. 


Barbour. 


Call of the Wild. 


London. 


Bob, the Son of Battle. 


Olivant. 


Stories for Boys. 


Davis. 


Adventures Afloat and Ashore. 


Birdsall. 


The Cruise of the Ghost. 


Allen. 


The Life Savers. 


Otis. 


A New Robinson Crusoe. 


Alden. 


Lost in the Jungle. 


Chaillu. 


Stories from the Arabian Nights. 


Eliot. 


Also books by Gulick and by Ritchie referred to on pa 



157 



158 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Magazines 

Popular Mechanics. 
Illustrated London News. 
Harper's Weekly. 
Youth's Companion. 
The Country Gentleman. 
Geographical Magazine. 
Child Labor Bulletins. 

Bulletin, August, 1913: — 

1. Mr. Coal's Story. 

2. The Story of My Cotton Dress. 

3. The Story of a Medicine Bottle. 

Bulletin, August, 1914: — 

Little Comrades Who Toil. 

Trade Material 

The Saw in History. Henry Disston and Sons, Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania. 
The Little Red School House. Jos. Dixon Crucible Company, 

Jersey City. 
Apprenticeship Bulletins. Boston School of Printing. 
Winnipeg Business Men's Talks. 

Milk Bulletin. Chicago Medical Society Milk Commission. 
Bulletin on Food (no. 21). Illinois State Food Commission. 
Our Tubercular Children (vol. i, no. 10). Children's National 

Tuberculosis Society, 35 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, 

Illinois. 
Educational Publications on the Care of the Teeth. Colgate 

& Co., New York. 
How to Run a Lathe. South Bend Lathe Works, South Bend, 

Indiana. 
The Forging of an Auger Bit. Greenlee Bros. & Co., Rockford, 

Illinois. 
Publications of National Safety Council, Chicago, Illinois. 
Health and Safety. Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company, 

Providence, Rhode Island. 
The Employee and Accident Prevention. The Travelers Insur- 
ance Company. 



ENGLISH 159 

Foremen and Accident Insurance. The Travelers Insurance 
Company. 

Publications on Health and Hygiene. Metropolitan Life In- 
surance Company. 

File Filosophy. Nicholson File Company. 

Electrician and Mechanic. Sampson Publishing Companj'. 

Second in importance only to the variety of reading 
matter is its accessibility. The usual plan of supplying 
"supplementary readers" from the principal's office, 
one for each boy, and all alike, will not serve here. 
Neither will it do to try to anticipate the needs of the 
hour by having the pupils secure their reading material 
from the library in advance. This will come in time, 
and rapidly, but at the outset the books must be ready 
at hand in the room. Additions or substitutions should 
be made from time to time. 1 

The method of distributing the books affords oppor- 
tunity for still further vitalizing the work. It should 
include the freedom of selection, the right of conference 

1 The following list of prose selections, taken from The Riverside 
Readers, serves to show how a set of "Readers" may be indexed by 
the boys themselves for the peculiar interest and convenience of the 
pre vocational class. 

Riverside Readers — James H. Van Sickle and Wilhelmina Seegmiller 
(Houghton Mifflin Company). 

Selection Reader Page 

Horace Greeley, Journalist. James Parton 6th 63 

David Maydole, Hammer Maker. James Parton 7th 65 

In the Factory. Henry Clemmons Pearson 7th 74> 

(Emphasizes importance of education.) 
The Colonists. John Aikin and Anna L. Barbauld 7th 59 

(Relative value to the community of the worker 
and the "gentleman.") 
The History of Two Boys. H. Irving Hancock 7th 80 

(Illustrates two types of character in business life.) 
Readers and Reading. Henry van Dyke 8th 35 



160 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

with the teacher, and the development of a simple 
library system. 

Too much importance cannot be attached to the 
liberty given the pupils to select their own reading 
material. Of course, through conferences with the 
teacher, the reading is guided, directed, and supervised, 
but the pupil still selects his books from day to day. 
By this very process he is enabled to examine, and 
so become somewhat acquainted with, a much larger 
number of books than under any other plan. He is led 
to appreciate the great variety of uses to which the 
printed page is put, and so learns to discriminate in 
his reading. If the boy learns how to read a newspaper 
he has acquired that which will be of considerable value 
to him throughout his life. 

An excellent device is to have the class work up a card 
catalogue with notations on each card by the different 
pupils who have read the book. In addition to this, a 
slip fastened in the book may contain the names of the 
pupils who have read it, together with some brief com- 
ment by each reader. Also, from time to time, especially 
after the course is well under way, there may be brief 
reviews of certain publications, presented either orally 
or in writing. By means of these reviews and through 
personal conferences will be found ample opportunity of 
securing as much reaction on the part of the children 
as should be required in this phase of the course in Eng- 
lish. It must be reiterated that enjoyment of the read- 
ing process is of infinitely greater importance than any 
other feature in the peculiar problem with which we are 
dealing. Where the prevocational work is likely to cover 
two or more years, we believe that it is profitable 
to devote the first third of the time almost exclusively 



ENGLISH 



161 



to this process of establishing friendly relations with 
books. 1 

It is a matter of easy transition from reading merely 
for entertainment to reading for information. The daily 
hour set aside for silent reading may readily develop 
into a period of supervised study. The first essential of 
such a transition is cooperation between the teacher 
of English and the teachers of the other subjects, if 
such subjects are taught depart men tally. 

This cooperation with the other teachers makes a 
peculiar demand on the teacher of English in a pre- 
vocational class. He may be permitted to be a specialist 
so far as the reading for entertainment and the reading 
for aesthetic appreciation are concerned, and even in the 
realm of written and oral expression he may be allowed 
to do some work in English "for the sake of English," 
but he must acquire an interest in the subject-matter 
of all the other studies. In time he should become con- 
versant with the more important literature used in the 
courses in history, civics, science, hygiene, and shop- 
work. He cannot say, "It is my business to know and 
to teach English." It must be his recognized duty to 



1 The following table shows the increase in the number of books 
read by the Industrial Class at the University of Chicago where this 
method was employed: — 



Table shotting number of books read by a class of about twenty boys 


October 


November 


December 


January 


February 


March 


April 


10 


22 


24 


54 


74 


59 


40 



Note: — December and March were shortened by the Christmas 
holidays and the spring recess. In April the time allowed for reading 
was shortened by two fifths. 



162 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

teach the pupils how to use English in any department 
of their school work. 

Where the same teacher is teaching history and Eng- 
lish, for example, there are times when it would be 
difficult to say whether certain work was being done as 
history or as English. Because of the teacher's common 
interest, the two subjects have been correlated natu- 
rally. The same kind of correlation should be sought 
when the work is done by different teachers. Where the 
reading material has been listed, as in the case of hy- 
giene and history in this series, such cooperation is a 
relatively simple matter, provided the entire work of 
the class has been coordinated by one person and the 
several teachers understand the plan and the principles 
involved. 

As examples of such correlation the following con- 
crete illustrations are given. 

The teacher of history has discussed with the class 
the subject of the evolution of tools from the crude 
forms as used by primitive man to the modern compli- 
cated machine tools. The hammer has been chosen as 
an example beginning with the crude stone, bound with 
thongs to the end of a stick, and ending with the steam 
and pneumatic hammers. The time which can be ap- 
propriately devoted to this phase of history has been 
consumed, but the teacher of English may well utilize 
the interest which the boys now have in this subject by 
giving them such reading matter as The Saw in History. 

Or let us suppose that the teacher of physiology has 
told briefly, in a lesson on anatomy, the story of Atlas 
in connection with the mention of the second vertebra, 
or has referred, in a discussion on the muscles, to the 
tendon of Achilles. Experience has shown that even 



ENGLISH 163 

this slight introduction has served amply to open the 
way for the teacher of English to present Hawthorne's 
charming tales from the Greek myths or to lead delight- 
ful excursions into the classic realm of the heroes of 
Greece and Troy. 

The shop also suggests subjects for work in English. 
While any intensive study of the larger industries be- 
longs in the main to the department of history, still 
there are many related social and industrial questions 
of which the English department must take account. 
By cooperating with the teachers of shopwork and his- 
tory, the English department will find ample material 
relating to such subjects, for example, as the production 
of iron, steel, coal, and lumber. 

In addition to utilizing the reading material in other 
subjects for the purpose of teaching the pupils how to 
read for information, some special talks may be given 
to show the children something of the utility of books 
in general, and of the extent to which they enter into the 
practical work of the civilized world. Things that are 
matters of such common knowledge to us as to seem 
obvious are frequently overlooked by them. We com- 
prehend, for example, that books serve a great variety 
of purposes and that there are few problems presented 
by life to the solution of which the printed page may 
not have something to contribute. How may the pupils 
be led to a similar appreciation? 

Children are almost always interested in hearing 
about the history of iron and steel, and of the workings 
of the great factories in which such material is made 
into products for the market. Such recitals as these 
are thought to be especially appropriate for prevoca- 
tional classes, yet it is an open question whether they 



164 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

are more appropriate or more interesting or more val- 
uable to the average prevocational child than would be 
the history of books and a description of the workings 
of some large public library. The library is, in fact, a 
huge machine, and the librarian and his assistants know 
how to operate it. To them the library is not the awe- 
inspiring and incomprehensible thing that it is to the 
average child. The children would not feel so helpless 
in the presence of thousands of volumes if they knew 
something of the principles of classification and cata- 
loguing. They should learn how an assistant librarian 
can pick out, from the mass of reading, the little piece 
of information for which the reader happens to be 
searching. 

By merely naming, or by informally discussing, just 
a few of the classifications, the teacher can open new 
worlds to some of the children. Take, for example, the 
following as illustrative and think what any teacher 
may tell the children that will prove both interesting 
and instructive and that may result in exciting a curios- 
ity about books : — 

Classification 

Fiction. Travel. Civics. Engineering. 

Biography. Art. Politics Mechanics. 

History. The drama. Science. Encyclopaedias. 

A few facts about some of the world's great libraries; 
the knowledge that ancient libraries were only for the 
great and powerful and could be used only by great 
scholars; a brief statement of the development of the 
American plan of free, municipal, circulating public 
libraries, — these and other similar topics are quite 
as interesting and quite as appropriate for industrial 



ENGLISH 165 

classes as the story of iron and steel, and it is believed 
that some acquaintance with such facts will convince 
the children that books are indeed useful and valuable 
things. 

It will also be of interest and somewhat of a surprise 
to many children to learn that some manufacturing 
concerns maintain libraries of their own and employ a 
librarian. At first thought there may seem to be little 
connection between a factory and a library, but a little 
reflection will show the boys that modern industry 
makes so many demands on science, art, and mechanics, 
and on other related or contributing industries, that it 
is desirable to have all the educational material possible 
ready at hand for both employer and employees. 

Any teacher who has the right point of view can find 
countless opportunities for bringing to the attention of 
the children the great utility of books. 

While the development of verbal expression, both oral 
and written, is a legitimate purpose of prevocational 
English, it should be admitted that this is of far less 
importance than the quickening of the pupil's powers 
of acquisition. It should also be said that, of the two, 
oral expression is of far more value to these boys than 
written composition. 

While of secondary importance, the development of 
ready, accurate verbal expression should not be over- 
looked entirely. Some instruction, therefore, must be 
given in penmanship, composition, and spelling, and 
possibly in reading aloud for intonation and expression, 
but the prevocational teacher must not fail to see this 
work in its proper perspective. There is nothing more 
disheartening than to see a teacher of prevocational 
boys proceeding in his instruction with the same undue 



166 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

emphasis on the unessentials that resulted so disas- 
trously with these very children while they were in the 
grades. Undoubtedly it would be better to eliminate 
this whole phase of English, for these boys, than to over- 
emphasize it at the expense of the reading for enter- 
tainment, for information, and for inspiration. 

Little formal instruction should be given in penman- 
ship in the pre vocational class. The personal criticism 
of all written work, together with occasional study of 
excellent examples of penmanship, should result in any 
needed improvement in the formation of letters. 

An incentive for a little exceptionally good or careful 
writing may be provided in various ways. One such 
expedient is to have each boy keep a "Rule Book," in 
which is written, from time to time, directions, sug- 
gestions for work, or other matters which the teacher 
wishes to have in the boys' hands for immediate refer- 
ence; such, for example, as rules for self -management 
in school, and rules for sanitation and hygiene in school 
or home. Some of the notebook work, the copying of 
poems and of selected prose extracts, and the work 
on the card index previously mentioned may be cited 
as means of securing improvement in penmanship. 

The time available is too limited to permit of develop- 
ing spelling as a subject. Undoubtedly individual atten- 
tion should be given to desperately bad cases in order 
to discover if there is some special cause for this condi- 
tion which can be corrected readily. Such cases have 
been discovered and materially improved. Here, also, 
the most appropriate method is that of personal crit- 
icism and suggestion. Spelling lessons should prefer- 
ably be informal and should rarely include spelling 
aloud. Word study which can be made picturesque or 



ENGLISH 



167 



dramatic, and which can be introduced informally, will 
serve the double purpose of improving the spelling and 
of providing another opportunity for the development 
of oral expression. As an example of words which may 
be studied in this way the following are suggested : — 



good-by — 
dahlia — 
macadamize 

boycott — 
derrick — 

thimble — 
alphabet — 
school — 
sarcasm — 
nausea — 
aviation — 
dexterous — 
sinister — 



tantalize — 
rival — 



tariff 



Contraction of "God be with you." 

From name of Swedish botanist, Dahl. 

From name of Scottish engineer, John Louden 
Mac Adam. 

From name of first victim of that system. 

From name of London hangman of seventeenth 
century. 

From Anglo-Saxon, thuma, "thumb." 

From Greek, alpha and beta. 

From Greek, schole, "leisure." 

From Greek, sarx, "flesh." 

From Greek, naus, "ship." 

From Latin, avis, "bird." 

From Latin, dexter, "right." 

From Latin, sinister, "left," as opposed to 
dexter, "right"; whence the meaning "ill- 
omened," "bad." 

From the Latin myth of Tantalus. 

From Latin, rivales, "near neighbors"; rivus, 
"river"; and so the struggles among people 
for habitation on river banks developed the 
word "rival." 

From the Spanish promontory, Tarifa, once 
inhabited by Moors. 



Other expedients found useful are : — 

Dictation with immediate correction of misspelled 
words in class, corrections being made by the boys 
themselves. They may report on their improvement 
from day to day, not on the percentage of failures. 

Study of list of words collected from shop and other 
classes by the boys. 



168 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Occasional reference to published lists, such, for ex- 
ample, as that compiled for the vocational class of Swift 
and Company, Chicago, familiarly known as the 
"Swift Speller.' ' 

Dictionary work, conducted in school time as a class 
exercise, is valuable. 

It is difficult to conceive of any good reason why oral 
reading should ever be given as a class exercise in a pre- 
vocational school, but the practice is so common that 
some consideration must be given to the question. 

Experience would go to show that it is worse than a 
waste of time to have the members of a class sit and 
listen to desperately bad readers struggling painfully 
through sentence after sentence, the import of which is 
already a matter of common class knowledge, since the 
book is under the eyes of all. If the oral reading were 
of excellent quality, something might be learned by 
imitation, but as it is the listener acquires little or 
nothing but distaste for the whole proceeding, and the 
reader is in even a worse plight, since he is keenly con- 
scious of his failure to entertain or enlighten either him- 
self or his listeners. Whatever may be the teacher's 
purpose for such practice, it is impossible to discover 
any actual accomplishment which can be called worthy. 
Oral reading may serve an excellent purpose in pre- 
vocational education, but that phase of English will be 
discussed in another place. 

Technical grammar has no place in pre vocational 
work excepting in its most elementary form. The ability 
to recognize in a sentence a noun, a verb, an adjective, 
or an adverb, the subject or the predicate, is about as 
far as grammar should be carried as a subject. Even 
this attempt at sentence analysis should be discontinued 



ENGLISH 169 

unless there is unmistakable evidence that the interest 
is genuine, and that the work actually contributes to 
the pupils' ability to express themselves more clearly 
and concisely. 

It must not be assumed, because prevocational pupils 
are backward in school, that they are lacking in the 
capacity for aesthetic enjoyment. There is frequently a 
hunger in the hearts of these children which none of the 
so-called practical work can satisfy. English offers an 
opportunity to minister to this need, and perhaps oral 
reading will afford the best approach. This reading, 
however, should be done mainly by the teacher or by 
excellent readers drawn from other departments of the 
school. 

The ability to listen with pleasure to good reading is 
almost universal. Most adults have vivid recollections 
of things read to them in childhood, frequently with no 
intention that they should be retained, but which have 
been of lasting inspiration and benefit to them. Or- 
dinarily the teacher, under the stress of required work, 
does not feel at liberty to take the time for giving to 
the children a series of these pleasurable recollections. 
In the prevocational class in English this should be an 
important part of the regular program. 

In addition to listening to oral reading, the pupils 
should read for themselves, should copy in their note- 
books, and occasionally should commit to memory, 
examples of good literature. While some of the longer 
literary works may come within the capacity of an occa- 
sional pupil, for the large majority short extracts and 
adaptations from these works, and quotations from both 
prose and poetry, will be found preferable. These may 
well be selected to engender a respect for labor. It can- 



170 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

not be denied that literature has sung mainly the praises 
of the great and powerful, but tributes to the humbler 
workers are not wanting. The teacher who searches 
sympathetically will find ample material. As illustra- 
tive of this material and as indicative of variety, the 
following quotations are selected from a mass of such 
examples employed in prevocational classes : — 

No man is born into the world whose work 

Is not born with him; there is always work, 

And tools to work withal, for those who will, 

And blessed are the horny hands of toil ! 

The busy world shoves angrily aside 

The man who stands with arms akimbo set, 

Until occasion tells him what to do: 

And he who waits to have his tasks mapped out 

Shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled. Lowell. 

All Work 

All true work is sacred; for in all true work, were it but 
true hand-labor, there is something of divineness. Labor, 
wide as the earth, has its summit in heaven. Carlyle. 

The Prize of Life 

Genial manners are good, and power of accommodation to 
any circumstance, but the high prize of life, the crowning for- 
tune of a man is to be with a bias to some pursuit, which finds 
him in employment and happiness — whether it be to make 
baskets, or broadswords, or canals, or statutes, or songs. 

Emerson. 

The Worker 

The world is at its best. I feel 

A triumph in the work I do. 
With every turning of the wheel 

I add a little that is new. 



ENGLISH 171 

The masses shapeless through the past, 

I, even I, give shape. I bring 
From silent uselessness at last 

The pleasing useful thing. 

All that has been since the first light 

Shot out across the gulfs of space, 
Was that my crowning labor might 

Put something in its ordered place. 
The sound the toiling thousands make 

Is earth's sublimest symphony, 
And I, a worker, proudly take 

The part assigned to me. Riser. 

Music of Labor 

The banging of the hammer, 

The whirling of the plane, 
The crashing of the busy saw, 

The creaking of the crane, 
The ringing of the anvil, 

The grating of the drill, 
The clattering of the turning lathe, 

The whirling of the mill, 
The buzzing of the spindle, 

The rattling of the loom, 
The puffing of the engine, 

The fan's continual boom, 
The clipping of the tailor's shears, 

The driving of the awl — 
These sounds of honest industry 

I love — I love them all. Anonymous. 

Always 
Honest labor bears a lovely face. Dekker. 

A Man's Work 

In the morning when thou art sluggish to rouse thee, let 
this thought be present: "I am rising to a man's work." 

Marcus Aurelius. 



172 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Thus it will be seen that the work in English, even in 
prevocational classes, offers wide opportunity for the 
presentation of much that is inspirational. It will be a 
sorry day for education if the schools admit that in- 
spirational literature is mainly for the few and that the 
only training needed by the workers is in the so-called 
practical phases of industrial education. Rather should 
such literature be brought to light as will help to raise 
humble work out of its commonly sordid and unpoetic 
relations and touch it with the magic of idealism. 



CHAPTER XI 

MATHEMATICS 

It is obvious that mathematics must be included in 
the subjects of instruction for prevocational pupils and 
that the work must be selected with due reference to 
their peculiar needs. With few exceptions, such pupils, 
when they enter the prevocational class, are decidedly 
deficient in arithmetic, being far behind children of the 
same age who have maintained the normal rate of prog- 
ress in the schools. They are remarkably slow and ex- 
tremely inaccurate in all mathematical calculations; 
they lack the ability to understand problem statement, 
analysis, and solution; they are uninterested in the sub- 
ject and are unconvinced of its importance. To make 
good these deficiencies and to change these attitudes, 
the course planned for prevocational pupils must pro- 
vide some real incentive to drill in the fundamental 
operations, and it must give convincing proof of the 
utility of the subject by affording ample opportunity 
for the pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge. 
The subject will be discussed, therefore, under these two 
general subdivisions, drill and utility. It must be obvi- 
ous that these are not absolutely distinct phases of the 
problem of mathematics, and that in practice they will 
react upon each other and will progress together, but 
they can be discussed more clearly if considered sep- 
arately. 

The pupil who makes the normal progress in school 



174 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

has had the necessary drill in the fundamental opera- 
tions before reaching the difficult and critical age of 
adolescence. To demand drill of the pre vocational pupil 
and to expect unquestioning and unresenting acquies- 
cence to it is to invite still further failure. Yet it is fruit- 
less to attempt mathematical instruction without such 
drill. A device which has been found measurably suc- 
cessful in securing this necessary drill in a prevocational 
class is here described. 

Without special reference to arithmetic the fact is 
scientifically developed that practice increases efficiency. 
The plan is then explained to the pupils whereby each 
one can prove the truth of this fact by his own experi- 
ence extending over a few weeks and consuming not 
more than five minutes a day. It is shown that each boy 
can make this investigation by testing himself and can 
determine his relative increase in efficiency by compar- 
ing himself with others. 

Drill tables are prepared involving the addition of 
fractions. It is preferable to drill in addition of fractions 
rather than whole numbers for several reasons. First, 
addition of whole numbers seems too simple to a boy 
of this age, even though he is extremely deficient in it, 
in both speed and accuracy; second, the addition of long 
columns does not provide sufficient variety to excite ac- 
tive interest; and third, it is easier to convince boys that 
they do not know how to handle fractions than it is to 
prove to them that they cannot add whole numbers, and 
it is more easily shown that this deficiency is a handicap 
in their work. 

About twenty problems, involving fractions, are pre- 
sented as a class exercise in arithmetic. The results 
convince the pupils that some special attention should 



MATHEMATICS 175 

be given to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and 
division of fractions. These problems are such as the 
boy meets in drawing to scale, involving the division of 
ascertained dimensions by one half, one fourth, or one 
eighth; or in figuring the over-all length of a piece of 
work from the intermediate dimensions; or in making 
out simple bills of stock for various shop jobs. 

At first the entire arithmetic period is devoted to the 
explanation of principles and demonstration of their 
application, but after a few days the work on drill tables 
is taken up at the beginning of each lesson for the first 
five minutes only. Examples of tables actually used in 
a prevocational class follow (pp. 176-179). 

Five or six tables for each process will be enough to 
provide such variety of arrangement that answers can- 
not be memorized. The second table on subtraction 
illustrates this variety. If the order in which the tables 
are given out day after day is varied, this number of 
tables will provide sufficient work for five-minute exer- 
cise periods through several months. 

The number of problems on a sheet should be a 
matter of experimentation, as many being given as 
a class will work out with reasonable energy. The work 
should not extend over a period long enough to re- 
duce the intensity with which the pupils apply them- 
selves. 

The manner of using the table is obvious, but a word 
may be added regarding the plan of checking up and 
utilizing the results from day to day. 

Accuracy and speed are both considered. To arrive 
at a significant numerical statement of the result, the 
number of correct answers is divided by the number of 
seconds allowed, and, to produce a whole number, the 



176 



PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 



To the class: Make as many of the Additions as you can in 
the time allowed. Please stop your work as soon as the teacher 
calls "Time up." 



H= 


1 + 1 = 

2^8 


1+1= 
2^16 


1+1= 

2 82 


1+1= 
2 64 


i+5- 


i+^ = 


1+1= 
4^32 


1+1= 

4 + 64 


1+1= 
8 16 


5+1= 


5+1 = 
4^32 


5+1= 

4^64 


8+1= 

8 X 16 


5+1= 
8^64 


7 17 
16 + 32 


1+1= 

16^64 


5+11= 

8^32 


«+!= 

4 T 32 


1+1= 
16 T 32 


1 + 1 = 
2^3 


1 1 

4 + 5 


i+i- 


H= 


14= 


5 + 1 = 

8^3 


3 2 
5 + 9 = 


2 + 1= 

7 7 


-M= 


8+1= 
8 r ll 


5 + 1 = 


* + £= 


8 + 5 = 

8 6 


i+*= 

12 T 9 


1+1= 
12 T 8 



Pupil's Name 

Date 

Time 

No. Correct . 



MATHEMATICS 



177 



To the class: Make as many of the Subtractions as you 
can in the time allowed. Please stop your work as soon as 
the teacher calls "Time up." 



1 1 


1 1 


1 1 


1 1 


1 1 


2 4 


2 8 


2 16 


2 32 


2 64 


3 1 


5 1 


1 7 


19 1 


7 1 


8 4 


16 4 


4 32 


64 4 


16 8 


3 1 

4 16 


3 5_ 

4 32 


3 3 

4 64 


3 5 

8 16~ 


5 7 
8 64"" 


17 7 


9 9 


5 11 


3 9 


3 5 


32 16 


16 6*~" 


8 32 


4 32 


16 32 


1 1 


1 1 


1 1 


1 1 


1 1 


2 3 


4 5 


5 6 


4 9 


3 4 


3 1 


3 3 


4 3 


3 2 


3 3 


8 3 


5 9 


7 7 


4 9 


8 11 


3 1 


4 2 


3 3 


4 5 


5 3 


4 6~ 


6 9 


6 8 


9 12 


12 8 



Pupil's Name . 

Date 

Time 

No. Correct . 



178 



PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 



To the class: Make as many of the Subtractions as you 
can in the time allowed. Reduce answers to lowest terms. 
Please stop your work as soon as the teacher calls "Time 
up." 



1 1 

2 4 


3 1 

4 16 


1 1 
5 6 


19 1 
64 4 


1 1 

3 4 


1 1 

2 64 


3 3 

8 11 


7 1 
16 8 


3 5 

4 32 


1 1 

2 32 


5 3 
12 8 


1 3 

2 8 


1 7 
4 32 


3 1 

8 4 


19 7_ 
32 16~~ 


5 1 
16 4 


1 1 

2 16 


3 1 

8 3 


1 1 

2 3 


3 5 

8 16 


3 1 

4 6 


4 3 

7 7 


1 1 

4 9 


9 9 

16 64 


8 2 
4 9 


4 2 
6 9~" 


3 3 

4 64 


5 7 
8 64 


4 5 
9 12 


3 9 

4 32 


5 11 
8 32 


1 1 
4 5 


3 5_ 
16 32 


3 3 

6 8 


3 2 
5 9 



Pupil's Name 

Date 

Time 

No. Correct . 



MATHEMATICS 



179 



To the class: Make as many of the Divisions as you can 
in the time allowed. Reduce answers to lowest terms. Re- 
duce improper fractions to mixed numbers. Please stop your 
work as soon as the teacher calls "Time up." 



1 1 

2 : 4 


3 1 

4 : 16" 


1 1 
5 : 6 ~ 


1 1 
5 : 4" 


9 _ 9 
64^" 16" 


3 2 

4 : 9~ 


3 . 3 
8 : 11 


1 1 

2 : 64~ 


5 , 3 
12 : 8" 


1 , 1 

2 : 32 


17. 7 
32 : 16" 


7 . 1 
32 : 4 


19 1 
64 : 4" 


1 1 
3 : 4 


1 1 
3 : 2" 


1 1 

2 : 8" 


3 3 

4 '* 64" 


7 7 

8 : 32" 


3 1 

8 : 3" 


3 9 

4 : 32~ 


3 . 3 
5 : 4 


ii- 3- 
16"" 3 " 


3 2 
5 : 9" 


9 . 3 
16 : 64 


9 t 9 
16 : 64 


!♦- 


4 2 
6 : 9" 


21 13 
32 : 16" 


3 3 
5 : 20 


!♦*- 


4 2 

7 : 7" 


5 3 

48 : 8" 


1 1 
4 : 9" 


7 , 7 

8 : 12" 


4 s 3 

7 : 7" 



Pupil's Name 

Date 

Time 

No. Correct . 



180 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

quotient is multiplied by 100. Each boy notes from day 
to day what his improvement, if any, actually is. In a 
class with which this plan was used, there was only one 
boy who made no progress; the boy who improved most 
increased from 9 to 20. The class average in this instance 
was computed at stated intervals and increased regu- 
larly as follows: 6.6; 7.0; 7.0; 7.15; 7.95; 8.8; 8.91; 9.4; 
10.2; 10.9. 

It has been said that Francis Bacon's greatest con- 
tribution to education was made through his insistence 
on the utility of science. To the layman it may seem 
strange that either science or mathematics, often called 
the two most practical subjects, should ever have been 
esteemed for any other reason, and yet it is clear that, 
in the educational world, both science and mathematics 
are, by many, considered valuable school subjects for 
their disciplinary value quite apart from their utility 
content. While much thought has been given to this 
matter in recent years for the purpose of making arith- 
metic more immediately practical, and while as a result 
modern textbooks on the subject teem with supposedly 
concrete and useful problems, each of these concrete 
problems is too often the thin disguise of a principle, 
which, according to tradition, must be presented at its 
particular place in the course. With a few exceptions all 
textbooks present these principles in roughly the same 
order, so that, whatever series is used, the sixth grade 
will be found working on operations with advanced com- 
mon and decimal fractions and denominate numbers, 
and the seventh grade on percentage and all its ramifi- 
cations through profit and loss, commercial discount, 
commission, interest, insurance, taxes, stocks and 
bonds, and what not, — and all of the time with an eye 



MATHEMATICS 181 

almost single to the development of principles and with 
but slight attention to genuinely practical applications 
and actual utility. In the words of the preface to a new 
series of arithmetics: 1 

Although the doctrine of mental discipline has professedly 
been abandoned by all enlightened teachers, our textbooks 
have not yet loosened the shackles of this formalistic view of 
the subject. The teaching of antiquated arithmetical proc- 
esses has persisted in them, despite the fact that insufficient 
attention has been given to practice in the essential processes 
and that there is an increasing number of modern practical 
applications demanding attention. 

The usual textbooks vary; 2 but, in general, reliance is 
placed on systematic instruction, providing for progres- 
sive steps in mathematical reasoning with the hope — 
as tested by results, a forlorn one — that the principles 
will be applied readily to any problem arising in actual 
experience. In a course planned for prevocational 
pupils it will be found much better to present problems 
that will teach the principle and its application at the 
same time. 

1 Everyday Arithmetic. HoytandPeet. Houghton Mifflin Company. 

2 Recently a number of texts have appeared in which the pre- 
sentation of mathematics has departed more or less from the tradi- 
tional lines. They are supposed to be "vocational." While inadequate 
as texts, so far as general industrial schools or prevocational classes 
are concerned, they offer extremely suggestive material for the 
teachers. Among others the following may be noted: — 

Vocational Mathematics. William H. Dooley. D. C. Heath and 
Company. 

Vocational Arithmetic. H. D. Vincent. Houghton Mifflin Com- 
pany. 

Vocational Algebra. Wentworth and Smith. Ginn and Company. 

Ludlow Textile Arithmetic. Eaton and Brady. Ludlow Manufac- 
turing Associates, Ludlow, Massachusetts. 

Applied Arithmetic. E. E. Sheldon. R. R. Donnelley & Sons, Chi- 
cago, Illinois. 



182 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

For example, the standing of the pupils in the school, 
their progress from day to day, their attendance, and 
many other matters of record may be reduced to " aver- 
ages" and the pupils can compute these averages. Find- 
ing the average efficiency of the class for any given 
period and the comparison of this with later records 
affords not only good arithmetical computation for 
boys just entering the prevocational class, but it also 
furnishes one of the best incentives to progress. 

The finding of averages leads easily to the computa- 
tion of percentages for purposes of record, and, the meth- 
od and principle having been practically demonstrated 
and actually used, and the willingness to submit to a 
limited amount of drill having been established, the way 
is plain to a sufficient amount of practice and a suffi- 
ciently varied application of the principle involved to 
teach all the percentage which these boys will need for 
some time to come. 

The problems suggested on page 183, taken from 
the work of a prevocational class, are illustrative. An 
attendance table was prepared showing hours of ab- 
sence of each pupil in the class each month. The ques- 
tions were based on this table. 

If they are to be taught at all, even such abstract and 
forbidding topics as the "Greatest Common Divisor" 
and the "Least Common Multiple" may be approached 
in this practical, concrete way, as is shown by the teach- 
ing in a prevocational class in which printing was the 
trade subject. As an approach to the subject of the 
greatest common divisor, the boys were given such prob- 
lems as the following: "In the bindery is scrap paper 
12 in., 18 in., and 24 in. long, the width being uniformly 
3 in. What is the longest pad that can be cut from this 



MATHEMATICS 



183 



Attendance table shovring hours of absence of each pupil each 
month 



Month 
No. of Days 

Pupil — 

E. B 

C.B 

S. B 

C.B 

F. D 

A.D 

H. H.... 
W. H.... 

A. K 

W. L.... 

CM 

O. M 

G. M 

W. M.... 

J. P 

P. P 

H. S 

P.S 

L. T 

A. T 

R. W.... 
K. Y 



Oct. 



15 











12 


12 
6 
7 

17 


7 
3 
3 

12 

58 

2 



Nov. 



3 

13 



10 



1 

19 



22 

21 

28 

6 

7 

3 

1 

11 

2 

11 

53 

16 

24 



Dec. 



12 

16 

11 





G 



10 



6 

19 

11 

10 

11 





8 



6 

12 
11 
11 



Jan. 



20 




9 
11 

5 
1 
1 

11 



4 

5 











7 

20 

29 

16 

7 

12 



18 



33 

14 

30 

6 

6 

6 

19 



3 

9 



11 

5 





9 



10 

12 

5 

16 



March Total 





10 

28 
3 
2 

19 
8 

15 

9 
5 

22 
1 

1 


27 

8 

25 
3 

15 



Questions 

1. Find who was absent the greatest number of hours. 

2. Who was absent the least number of hours? 

3. Which month had the fewest hours of absence? 

4. Find the average number of absences per month of each boy. 

5. Which month had the best attendance? 

6. Find the percentage of attendance during each month and plot a 
curve for the year to date. 

7. Let each boy plot a curve of his own percentage of absence. 



184 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

paper without waste?" The least common multiple was 
exempli fied thus : " Test the accuracy of your composing- 
stick by using em quads of 10-point, 12-point, and 
18-point type. To what measure should the stick be 
set?" 

Another application of the principle of utility is to 
be found in correlating the mathematics definitely 
with some of the science work and especially with the 
shopwork and drawing. All of these will call naturally 
for some mathematics and, with the cooperation of the 
teachers, such work can be carried out extensively. 
Attention must be drawn to the fact that so-called 
"shop problems" cannot be relied upon as the sole 
source of all the arithmetic in the prevocational course. 
Much has been said in late years regarding the desir- 
ability of confining the arithmetic work to "related prob- 
lems," but while this is excellent in theory it inevitably 
breaks down in practice. Notwithstanding the inade- 
quacy of shop problems as the only source of material 
for prevocational arithmetic, it is unquestionably advis- 
able to draw upon such problems for a considerable part 
of the course. 

The following have been selected from a large number 
and a wide range of shop-related and science-related 
problems that have been used in prevocational classes 
and schools. 1 They are grouped under four heads, wood- 
working, machine-shop practice, printing, and science. 
These problems are not recommended for actual use in any 
class, but are merely suggestive. The actual problems must 
be determined by the shopwork which the particular 
class is doing. 

1 Especial recognition is made of material kindly furnished by 
Mr. Martin L. Olsen, Quincy Prevocational Center, Boston. 



MATHEMATICS 




Blackboard sketch 
giving data re- 
garding stock re- 
quired for an 
order of fifty 
snow-pushers 



Finished size of head piece 




Details of top piece 

Problems related to woodworking 

How many board feet of lumber must 
we order for 50 snow-pushers? 

Make handles 68 in. long. Three han- 
dles from each oak board. Estimate lum- 
ber for 50 handles. 

The beech boards come 45 in. long. 
Therefore, we get 2 heads from 1 board. 
Estimate lumber for 50 heads. 

The beech boards come 45 in. long and i 
9| in. wide. How many top pieces can 
we get from each board? 



Size of stock for handles 



186 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

How much lumber is required for 50 top pieces? 

At $60 per M for beech and $64 per M for oak, how much 
is the lumber bill? 

Eight boys made 12 snow-pushers in 12 days. How many 
boys must work on another lot of 12 snow-pushers to get the 
job done in 3 days? 

Figuring the cost of 23 broom-holders made by a prevoca- 
tional class. 



Name 


No. of pieces 


Length 
(inches) 


Width 
(inches) 


Thickness 
(inches) 


Back 


1 


8 


5 


i 

4 


Front 


1 


5 


5 


I 


Sides 


2 


5 


i£ 


I 



Back — 5 X 8 in. = 40 in. B.M. 

Front — 5 X 5 in. = 25 in. B.M. 

2 sides — 2 X H X 5 in. = 15 in. B.M. 

Total in. B.M., 80. 

Total ft. B.M. - 80 + 144 = f ft. 

Cost at 9£ per ft. = f X H = H- 

Cost of 23 holders is $1.15. 

Cost of 1 pt. of varnish used to finish 23 holders, the varnish 
costing $2.40 per gal., 30£. 

Cost of labor at 10# per hour (Average boy spent 2| hours), 
25£ per holder, or $5.75 for the lot. 

Total cost for the lot — $1.15 + .30 + 5.75 = $7.20. 

Problems related to work in the machine shop 

1. On a shoulder bolt which you will make in the shop, the 
threaded part is | in. long; the shoulder, T \ in.; the bear- 
ing, H in. ; and the head, f in. long. How long a piece of 
stock would you cut for the bolt? (Solve by arithmetic 
and drawing.) 

2. If Mr. Marshall gave you the job of making four of them, 
how long a piece of stock would you need if you allowed 
I in. on each bolt for waste in cutting off? 

3. On another shoulder bolt the threaded portion is j% in. 
in length; the shoulder, $f in.; the bearing, l£ in.; and 
the head, j^ in. How long is the entire bolt? (Solve by 
arithmetic and drawing.) 



MATHEMATICS 



187 



4. If Mr. Marshall asked you to make three of them, how 
long a piece of stock would you need, allowing | in. 
waste on each bolt for cutting off? (Solve by arithmetic 
and drawing.) 

5. On some brass thumbscrews which Anthony made, the 
threaded part was |4 in. long; the knurled part measured 
i^ in., and the sloping side of the head was £f in. long. 
How long was the thumbscrew? (Solve by arithmetic 
and drawing.) 

6. Calculate the weight of the 12 X 18 in. bench block 
shown in sketch below, 

if 1 cu. in. of cast iron 
weighs 26 lbs. 
If the foundry charges 
us 3f^ a lb. how much 
does the casting cost? 
How much is our bill 
for 6 of them if we 
allowed a cash dis- 
count of 5 and 2 %? 
If we charge $2.50 a- 
piece for these bench 
blocks, how much do 
we get for our labor in planing and painting them? 

7. Estimate the weight of 10 brass paperweights 2| X 2| X I 
in. (One cubic inch of brass weighs .28 lb.) 

If we pay l\i per lb. for these castings, how much is 
the foundry bill? 

As we paid within 10 days, we got 2% cash discount. 
How much did we pay? 

8. The face plate casting for our new lathe chuck weighed 
12! lb. when it came from the foundry and 8 lb., 2 oz. when 
machined. How many pounds of chips were removed? 
How much did the casting cost at 3f^ per lb.? 

9. We have ordered from the foundry 100 adjustable desk 
irons. How much will the lot cost when each pair of 
irons weighs 9£ lb. and the foundry charges 4|^ per lb. 
for the castings? 

In finishing these desk irons, we broke 11 castings. 
What per cent of the total number were broken? 




Bench Block 



188 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

What was the cost of those broken? 

Bolts, nuts, and washers for the irons cost $2.03; 

priming paint, $.60; and black varnish paint, $1.40. What 

was the total cost of the desk irons? 

For the finished product we receive $1.25 per set. How 

much is our total profit? 

10. Make out a bill from the G Foundry to the 

Q School for these castings; also a statement to 

Mr. B of the completed job. 

Problems related to work in the printing shop 

1. How many points long is a line of type measuring 4§ 
in.? (It is a line that has been measured by the pupils.) 

2. How many 12-point ems equal in length the above 
line? 

3. A printed page (a definite page is in the pupils' mind) is 
408 points long. Find its length in ems in 6, 8, 10, and 
12-point type. 

4. A printed page (again the pupils have a definite page in 
mind which they have measured) measures Q\ in. long. 
Find the number of ems in its length when set in 6, 8, 10, 
and 12-point type. 

5. Find the number of ems in a book (a certain definite one 
which the pupil has examined) of 84 pages set in 8-point 
type, each page being 18 picas wide and 32 picas long. 

6. "The Printer's Dictionary" has 380 pages, 9 of which 
are blank. Each page is 14 picas wide and 28 picas long. 
How many ems in the book, if set in 10-point type? 

Problems from science 

1. The diameter of a driving pulley is 12 in. and its speed is 
300 R.P.M. What is the speed of the driven pulley 
whose diameter is 4 in.? 

2. The driving pulley on a shaft is 40 in. in diameter and 
makes 30 R.P.M. How many revolutions will the driven 
pulley make if its diameter is 3 ft.? 

3. The diameter of the driving pulley is 9 in. and its speed 
is 1000 R.P.M. What will be the speed of a driven pulley 
if its diameter is 5 in.? 



MATHEMATICS 189 

4. The surface speed of a turning piece of work is 4000 ft. 
per minute. If its diameter is 4 in., what is its R.P.M.? 

5. A certain grindstone will stand a surface or rim speed of 
1000 ft. per sec. At how many R.P.M. could it run if its 
diameter is 40 in.? 

6. A combination of pulleys has a mechanical advantage 
of 4|. What weight could you lift with a pull equal to 
your own weight? With a pull of 80 lb.? 

7. Could you lift a 300 lb. radiator, allowing 20 lb. to over- 
come friction? 

8. If with the differential pulley in the shop you could lift 
a 640 lb. casting with a pull of 80 lb., what is its mechan- 
ical advantage? 

9. If there were no friction between the parts the mechanical 
advantage of the differential pulley in the shop would be 
about 30. How much of the mechanical advantage is 
lost in friction? 

10. We found the weight of a cubic foot of water. What is 
the weight of a gallon? The specific gravity of polarine 
is about .87. How much does a gallon of polarine weigh? 

Even a casual reading of the foregoing shop problems 
will show how futile it is to teach "general principles " 
with the expectation that these pupils will be able to 
apply them to any and every problem which may arise. 

Account-keeping is another practical application of 
arithmetic. It is needed by all and it furnishes an easy 
approach to simple addition and multiplication of whole 
numbers and decimals. The word " bookkeeping' ' has 
a fascination for most boys, due, no doubt, to the adver- 
tisements of business colleges and to the current idea 
that it is a practical subject. It should be possible to find 
some boy in the class who has sold the Saturday Evening 
Post, or daily papers, or who has gained, through some 
small business activity, the material necessary to furnish 
a simple beginning for this work in account-keeping. 
Moreover, in a well-organized school there are to be 



190 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

found' many different accounts which can be made avail- 
able for the prevocational class and which will furnish 
ample exercise for a good beginning in account-keeping. 

A vital aspect of account-keeping which should receive 
due recognition is that related to the expenditure of the 
family income. Such work is amply justified by the re- 
quirements of utility. It is not only desirable to teach 
the potential worker how to earn a larger income, but 
it is equally important to show him how he may spend 
wisely and save consistently. Inasmuch as the prevo- 
cational boys may soon contribute to the family income, 
and since the economic conditions in the homes of many 
of them are such that they must early become acquainted 
with the problems of home management, this subject, if 
tactfully presented, will produce an interested response. 
Furthermore it will serve to show the boys how some 
of the ideals established through the work in history, 
hygiene, and English may be realized even on a small 
income. 

The following quotation from an authority on house- 
hold management, Miss Bertha M. Terrill, will serve to 
bring out clearly the appropriateness of this topic. She 
says : — 

. . . Through failure to distinguish intelligently between 
needs and wants the majority of people spend two thirds or 
more of their income for what fails to bring them the best re- 
sults in health and happiness. There are conflicting opinions 
as to what vital needs are, although it would seem self-evident 
that they consist materially of those things which man must 
have to live under the best conditions, such as pure food, 
healthful clothing, sanitary houses, sufficient air and light, 
together with those things which will minister to the highest 
intellectual and spiritual development. 1 

1 B. M. Terrill, Household Management. 



MATHEMATICS 



191 



Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, 1 after a study of actual family 
budgets in different parts of the country, drew up some 
"ideal" budgets which are reproduced in the following 
table : — 



Ideal division of the income for a family of two adults and 
two or three children 





Percentages for 


Family Income 


Food 


Rent 


Operating expenses: 
Fuel, Light, Wages, 
etc. 


Clothing 


The higher life : 
Books, Travel, 
Saving, Char- 
ity, etc. 


$1001-2000 
801-1000 
501-800 
500 and below 


25 
30 

45 
60 


20 ± 
20 
15 
15 


15 ± 
10 
10 
5 


20 ± 
15 
10 
10 


20 
20 
20 
10 



On the basis of this table it will be possible to com- 
pute the amount which any family having a given in- 
come should spend on the various items of the budget. 
This can be made extremely practical by ascertaining or 
estimating the actual incomes of families represented 
by boys in the class. Each item of the budget should be 
analyzed. For example, in dealing with the expenditure 
for food, the teacher should have access to some such 
material as appears in Lessons in Cooking, part ix, pub- 
lished by the American School of Home Economics, 
Chicago. The menu for one week in May, for example, 
may be dictated to the boys, including the cost of each 

1 Ellen H. Richards, Cost of Living. 



192 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

item as therein presented. The pupils might be asked 
to verify the prices given. Having found the food cost 
for a week, the cost for a year is easily estimated. From 
this sort of work the boys will be brought to realize that 
intelligent buying is necessary to secure this diet, — 
buying in bulk, seeking out the stores which offer the 
best bargains, and taking advantage of the market. If 
each of the other items of the budget — that is, rent, 
operating expenses, clothing, and the expenditure for 
the higher life — is approached in a somewhat similar 
way, there will be no doubt that the basic principle of 
utility will be subserved. Such work is both good arith- 
metic and good elementary " economics/ ' and should 
help to convince the boys that arithmetic is something 
which is really useful in daily life. 



CHAPTER XII 

SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 

While the shopwork in a prevocational course of 
study has considerable vocational value, its major pur- 
pose is inspirational rather than vocational, its function 
being to give education an atmosphere which seems 
more practical to the pupil, and which is more closely- 
related to active adult life than is the work of the ordi- 
nary schoolroom. 

For this reason it is impossible to say that any par- 
ticular type of shopwork should be given preference over 
all other types. In fact, where it is possible to do so, 
several different kinds of constructive work should be 
provided and the pupils should be given an opportunity 
to select one of these or even to experiment with all of 
them. As such a plan will be difficult to carry out in 
most communities, it is generally found desirable to 
select the one kind of shopwork which seems most ap- 
propriate for the locality in question. Where the com- 
munity is of such a character that no special interest 
determines the nature of the shopwork, either car- 
pentry, general repair work, or printing will serve excel- 
lently. 

It is the purpose of this chapter to note briefly a few 
different types of shopwork which have proved effec- 
tive in stimulating retarded pupils to an interest in 
education and in giving them besides some vocational 
intelligence. Before giving these typical examples, three 



194 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

general considerations common to all prevocational shop- 
work will be noted. These general considerations are, 
the nature of the work to be done, the shop equipment, 
and the characteristics of the teacher to be employed. 

The shopwork should be as genuinely practical as 
possible, and a considerable portion of it should result 
in a finished product of real value which may be used 
by the school or by some other department of the city, or 
which, under favorable conditions, can be put on the 
commercial market. The reason for this is not that the 
city may be enriched thereby, though there is ample rea- 
son for welcoming some financial return from this rather 
expensive form of education, but rather because it em- 
phasizes the utility of the education given and because 
it sets a reasonable standard of workmanship which the 
pupils must reach before the work can be accepted. 
Furthermore, this practical work is less likely to become 
formalized and reduced to a classwork basis, a tendency 
which has been noted in all school courses. In this con- 
nection the principle may be reiterated, that reliance 
on the systematic development of a subject is to be set 
aside in favor of the proposition that the doing of such 
practical work as comes to hand will undoubtedly es- 
tablish principles and theories enough to carry the pupil 
on to still further accomplishment. It is held that 
theory, unless applied immediately, is rarely carried 
over into power, whereas any work of a practical nature 
may illustrate at once both the theory and its applica- 
tion, or at least as much of the theory as the pupil could 
get from an abstract presentation of the work. 

In this respect the prevocational shopwork differs 
materially from the typical manual-training work. The 
courses, in manual training in common with all other 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 195 

school courses, are planned primarily for those children 
who make the normal progress through the school. It 
is expected that all the work will be done by all the mem- 
bers of the class in much the same way as is the work 
in arithmetic or geography. For this reason manual- 
training rooms are frequently equipped with from 
twenty to twenty-five benches or lathes or forges in 
order that the twenty or twenty -five boys in the class 
may all be doing the same work at the same time. More 
and more the practice in the prevocational class is to 
provide considerable variety in the practical work 
to be done and to consult the individual needs and apti- 
tudes of the pupils in assigning the work. In this way 
a greater demand is made on the individual for the 
assumption of responsibility, a feature which cannot 
estimated too highly. 

Furthermore, it should be noted that only two or three 
hours a week are allowed for the shopwork when given 
in the typical manual-training course, and there are 
many instances where less time is allowed. In the case 
of prevocational work, however, it is common to devote 
from eight to fifteen hours a week to the shopwork and 
drawing. It is thus possible to carry the shopwork much 
further. Of even greater importance is the fact that 
the pupils spend a much greater proportion of shopwork 
time in the doing of actual work and less in the receiving 
of class instruction. In other words, the ratio of instruc- 
tion to work is much less in a prevocational class than 
in the typical manual-training course. 

Variety in the nature of the work to be done requires a 
corresponding variety in the equipment. Where only one 
room can be equipped it is desirable to bear this in mind. 
Instead of providing twenty carpenter's benches, each 



196 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

equipped with a full complement of woodworking tools, 
it is much better to have half that number and to provide 
a wall bench with two or three metal vises, and to install 
a turning lathe, and possibly a hand forge and anvil. 

It is desirable also to provide some opportunity for 
instruction in the use of machines. The kind of shop- 
work usually given to elementary-school pupils is 
largely confined to hand processes. This may be good 
training, and undoubtedly it is justified from the point 
of view of educational handwork theories. There is one 
fact, however, which no one in the industrial world will 
dispute, namely, that machinery will be used more and 
more in the manufacture of all kinds of industrial prod- 
ucts. Even if all the machines in use in a factory to- 
day be replaced by others within ten years, as is so often 
said, still the knowledge of machinery, and the ability 
to handle it intelligently, will help the workman to adjust 
himself to the new order of things. Therefore training 
in the use of machinery will be of value to the future 
industrial worker wherever he may go. 

While few communities will feel inclined to equip a 
prevocational shop as generously, the equipment of the 
prevocational room of the Milwaukee School of Trades 
is described herewith as an excellent example. This pre- 
vocational department, or " Preparatory Department," 
is similar in all essentials to prevocational schools and 
classes in other cities. Though located in the School 
of Trades and intended to be a feeder for that insti- 
tution, yet it attracts the same type of pupils, and its 
courses are organized with the same emphasis on shop- 
work and on the practical phases of English, mathe- 
matics, science, and drawing. Therefore the following 
may serve to illustrate ideal prevocational equipment. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 197 

Shop Equipment, Preparatory Department, 
Milwaukee School of Trades 

Woodworking 

Each bench is used by two boys and is equipped with two groups 
of tools as follows: — 

Group I. Individual tools, one for each boy — 
1 block plane. 
1 smoothing-plane. 
1 jack plane. 

1 12 in. back saw (13 point). 
4 chisels, T 8 e in., f in., f in., 1 in. 
1 24 in. four-fold rule. 
1 nail set. 
4 brass tool-checks. 

1 sloyd knife. 

Group II. Used in common by both boys — 

2 hammers. 

1 12-in. combination square. 

1 mallet. 

1 screw-driver. 

1 marking-gauge. 

1 India oil stone (double face) in iron box. 

1 copper-plated oil can. 

The tool-room is equipped as follows: — 
6 rip saws, 26 in. (7 point). 
6 crosscut saws, 22 in. (10 point). 
3 compass saws. 
1 frame saw. 
1 coping saw. 
1 hack saw. 

3 jointer planes, 22 in. 
1 rabbet plane, 1| in. 
1 rabbet plane, l\ in. 
1 rabbet plane, 1 in. 

1 rabbet plane, carriage-makers'. 

4 router planes. 

2 shoot boards and planes. 
6 cabinet scrapers. 

12 6 in. spring dividers. 
1 pair trammels. 

3 pair calipers (outside) 4 in., 8 in., 12 in. 
3 pair calipers (inside) 4 in., 8 in., 12 in. 



198 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 



1 pair calipers (hermaphrodite) 6 in. 




1 6 in. monkey-wrench. 




1 12 in. monkey-wrench. 




12 of each size, turning chisels, j in., £ in. 


, f in., 1 in., l£ in. 


6 turning gouges, T \ in. 




12 of each size, turning gouges, £ in., | in 


i., | in., £ in., 1£ in. 


4 of each size, parting tools, | in., f in., 


fin. 


1 12 in. extension bit-holder. 




1 16 in. extension bit-holder. 




9 hand drills. 




4 screw drivers. 




7 braces, 8 in. sweep. 




3 24 in. steel squares. 




3 draw knives, 4 in. 




1 miter box. 




2 sets bits T 3 g in. to 1 in. 




6 dowel plates 




3 pairs pincers. 




3 pairs pliers. 




3 burnishers. 




2 complete sets auger bits, | in. to 1 in. 




4 of each size, short auger bits, T \ in., 


1 in., f in., T \ in., 


f in., f in., f in., 1 in. 




6 countersink bits. 





1 moulders' bellows. 
25 cabinet files, 8 in. 

3 expansion bits. 
In addition to the bench tools are the following woodworking 

machines: — 
Combination rip and crosscut saw — 5 H.P. motor. 
Band saw — 3 H.P. motor. 
12 in. jointer — 5 H.P. motor. 
24 in. planer — 5 H.P. motor. 
Vertical mortiser — 3 H.P. motor. 

Combination 4 emery wheel safety grinder — 2 H.P. motor. 
Two units (6 in each) woodturning lathes — 3 H.P. motor for each 
unit. 

Forging 

1 forge. 1 hot cutter. 

1 anvil. 3 heading-tools. 

1 ball pein hammer. 2 pairs straight tip tongs. 

1 sledgehammer. 2 pairs bolt tongs. 

1 top and bottom swage. 2 pairs gad tongs. 
1 cold cutter. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 199 

Metalworking 

Benches, bench tools, and soldering outfit — 

1 bench, maple top, 3 in. X 24 in. X 30 ft. 

9 machinist vises. 
12 cold chisels, f in. 
12 cape chisels, £ in. 
12 ball pein hammers 
24 mill files, 10 in. 
24 half-round bastard files, 10 in. 

1 set drills T ^ in. to f in. inclusive (in 32ds). 

3 2 in. micrometers. 

3 1 in. micrometers. 

6 pairs 4 in. "outside" calipers. 

6 pairs 4 in. "inside" calipers. 

1 set taps 6-32, 8-32, 10-32, 12-24, 14-20. 

1 set stock and dies 6-32, 8-32, 10-32, 12-24, 14-20. 

1 set number drills 1 to 60. 

1 "Bunsen" burner. 

2 blow torches. 

3 soldering bolts. 

1 small set bending rolls. 
3 pairs metal cutting shears. 

3 hack saws. 
Machine tools — 

4 hand metal turning lathes. 
1 screw cutting lathe. 

1 drill press. 

1 grinder for lathe tools. 

Important as equipment and product may be in a 
scheme of prevocational shopwork, the characteristics 
of the teacher in charge are of even greater moment. 
The principal or director who tries to secure a satis- 
factory teacher will find that the supply is extremely 
limited. He will also find that relatively little is being 
done to train such teachers, and that he is therefore 
put to the necessity of developing one for the particular 
position in question. Furthermore, most of this train- 
ing must be given after the teacher has entered upon 
his work. 



200 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

The two best sources of supply for the "raw material " 
seem to be the manual-training teachers and the so- 
called "practical" men from the industries. Success in 
either of these fields is no assurance that the man will 
succeed with prevocational classes, for the shopman 
must develop the ability to teach and the manual- 
training man generally needs training in industrial 
methods and industrial ideals, and both need most 
careful and sympathetic instruction regarding the pur- 
pose and methods peculiar to prevocational work. 

While it may be possible to state the characteristics 
which these teachers should possess, it is extremely 
difficult to establish methods by which these character- 
istics may be discovered or standards by which they 
may be measured. In the present stage of development 
there seems to be but one sure method of selection, 
namely, to try the most likely candidate and to be ready 
to dismiss him and engage some one else unless he suc- 
ceeds immediately in gaining the confidence of the boys 
and in making them enjoy the work. 

But the teacher himself, particularly the shop-trained 
man, is entitled to instruction and help from the prin- 
cipal or director in charge of the work. He should have 
definite instruction as to the purpose of his work and 
as to the results which he may reasonably expect to 
accomplish. He should also have professional advice re- 
garding his methods of teaching and the benefit of help- 
ful supervision. Too frequently the shop-trained teacher 
is left to "work out his own salvation," an error in ad- 
ministration which should not be permitted to occur, 
and the results of which should not be charged against 
the shop teacher. 

The success of the shop teacher should be judged, first, 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 201 

by the genuine interest and enjoyment manifested by 
the boys in the shop work; second, by the excellence 
and amount of the industrial product. It is impossible 
to predict whether the trained teacher or the practical 
shopman will most surely meet these requirements. 

Some practical shopmen are natural-born teachers 
and learn almost immediately how to keep fifteen or 
twenty boys of the prevocational type busy, which 
means happy. Many such men, however, fail to keep 
the whole class occupied because of their inability to 
care for more than one pupil at a time. Obviously this 
failure results in a waste of time and a consequent lack 
of close application to work. Some practical men are 
also ultracritical and repressive, thus disheartening the 
boys in much the same way as did the grade teachers 
under whom they failed to develop an interest in school 
work. 

On the other hand, the traditional manual-training 
teacher, who tries to carry all the boys along the same 
line and who insists on developing a high degree of 
technical skill, is as likely to be unfit as is the untrained 
practical man. After all, it is the human characteristics 
which are most important in the qualifications of this 
shop teacher, and on him and his willingness to co- 
operate with other teachers rests much of the success of 
the work. It is practically impossible to have a success- 
ful prevocational class with an unfit shop teacher. 

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OP PREVOCATIONAL 
SHOPWORK 

The following material, relating specifically to the 
shop-work in the prevocational schools of Boston, 
Louisville, Kansas City, and Chicago, but containing 



202 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

also some explanation of the organization and purpose 
of these classes, was prepared, on special request, by 
representatives of the work in the several cities. 1 

Boston, Massachusetts 
Prevocational Centers 

The classes are intended to consist of forty-five pupils each, 
fifteen of whom are in the shop, fifteen reciting, and fifteen 
studying at any given time during the six-hour day. There is 
no home study. 

There are eight centers at this date, with thirteen classes, 
each with an instructor of shop work, and an academic teacher. 
They are located as follows: — 

I. Austin Center, East Boston. Three classes: Book- 
binding, Machine-Shop Practice, Printing. 
II. Quincy Center, City Proper. One class: Machine- 
Shop Practice. 
III. North Bennet Street Center, City Proper. One 
class: Printing, Woodworking, and Concrete Work. 
IVc Sherwin Center, Roxbury. One class: Sheet-Metal 
Work. 
V. Lewis Center, Roxbury. One class: Printing. 
VI. Winthrop Street Center, Roxbury. Two classes: 
Bookbinding, Woodworking. 
VII. Agassiz Center, Jamaica Plain. One class : Box-mak- 
ing and Woodworking. 
VIII. Lyceum Hall Center, Meeting-House Hill, Dorches- 
ter. Three classes: Electrical Work, Sheet-Metal 
Work, Woodwork. 

The shopwork, eight to ten hours a week per pupil, in each 
class, is under the direction of a practical workman, and, in 
general, each boy will spend but a single year in a given shop, 
affording opportunity for vocational directive advice. The 
product is of a commercial character, being based on orders 
for general school purposes, and each center is credited with 
the value of goods produced. 

1 The Chicago material was prepared by Miss Edith Brown. See 
Announcement, Albert G. Lane Technical High School, 1915-1916. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 203 

Details of the equipment and work of two centers only- 
are given herewith. The Quincy Center has one shop 
equipped for machine-shopwork and the Lyceum Hall 
Center has three shops equipped for sheet-metal work, 
electrical work, and cabinet-making. The inventory of 
the output of the Lyceum Hall Center is for the work 
done in the first year of the school. Much more is being 
accomplished in the present year. 

QUINCY PREVOCATIONAL CENTER * 

Equipment: Machine Shop 

Year Name of Cost when 

purchased machine purchased 

1912 1 13 in. X 5 in. Prentice engine lathe with regular 

equipment of chucks, rests, and wrenches 250.00 

1912 1 14 in. X 5 in. Fay & Scott engine lathe with com- 
plete outfit of chucks, rests, etc. . . . 240.00 

1912 1 8 in. Stark bench lathe with split chucks from § 

in. X f in., wrenches and chucks 250.00 

1912 1 12 in. Seneca Falls speed lathe 52.00 

1914 1 10 in. Blount pattern speed lathe made by Quincy 

Prevocational Class '14 58.00 

1915 1 No. 2 Cincinnati Universal milling machine with 

dividing head, vise, etc 820.00 

1912 1 18 in. Hendy toolroom shaper 280.00 

1912 1 18 in. X 18 in. 48 Walter planer 350.00 

1911 1 16 in. Prentice back-geared drill press 95.00 

1910 1 8 in. Cohen Machine Company hand drill press . 12.00 
1915 1 Worcester Poly-Tech design sensitive drill press 

made by Quincy Prevocational Class '15 55.00 

1912 1 | H.P. Haltzer Cabot tool-grinder with polishing 

wheel 85.00 

1913 1 6 in. bench grinder, Mechanic Arts High School 

design, made by Quincy Prevocational Class '13 10.00 

1911 1 Wilkinson bench hand shear 15.00 

1914 1 2 hand-power hack saw from Mechanic Arts High 

School 5.00 

1 It is interesting to note with what a limited equipment the work 
was started. It illustrates well the fact that it is not desirable to 
wait until a perfect plan can be put in operation. 



204 



1912 
1912 
1910 
1911 
1912 



«»2 

gj r— I 
"73 C5 



PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

I power grindstone in iron frame 20.00 

I I H.P. Sturtevant motor and blower for gas forge 50.00 

24 3 in. machinist bench vises @ $2.50 75.00 

1 5 H.P. D.C. motor with starting panel 180.00 

60 ft. of lye in. diamond line shafting, couplings, 

pulleys, and belts 95.00 

1 16 in. wet tool grinder (Blount) 50.00 

1 12 in. X 6 in. Reed Prentice engine lathe 250.00 

1 12 in. South Bend engine lathe 185.00 

1 gas forge 

Total value of machine-shop equipment, exclusive 
of small tools in tool-room, at date of purchase of 
machinery $2825.00 

Depreciation of plant and equipment is usually 
figured at 3% per annum. 

Estimated present value $2600.00 



Output 

lathe 112 in. X 4 ft., with tools, rests, centers, etc., for 
wood-turning and metal-working. 
80 sets adjustable desk irons for Schoolhouse Commission. 

25 snow punchers. 

Frame for pulley blocks and electrical apparatus in Quincy 
School; old 1 in. pipe used. 
260 blue prints for special classes. 
180 blue prints for Quincy Prevocational Center. 

18 blue prints for Manual Arts Department. 
204 angle irons for woodworking rooms. 
424 bench strips for woodworking rooms. 
500 bench stop wire springs. 
20 vise handles, from old pipe, for Brighton High School. 
7 heavy screw drivers. 

26 screw-driver bits. 

Tempered and sharpened 15 wing dividers for Sherwin Prevoca- 
tional Center. 

6 dowel plates with holes \ to £ in. 

3 dowel plates (on hand). 

6 cold chisels, \ in. 
18 solid punches 

6 special scrapers 
15 scratch awls 

1 large cold chisel 
22 vises repaired. 



1 



for Lyceum Hall Prevocational Center. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 205 

4 cast-iron bench blocks (surface plates) 12 in. X 18 in. X 2 in. 
408 angle irons for School Committee Supply Rooms delivery boxes 
made at Lyceum Hall Prevocational Center. 
24 double angle irons, for Dwight School Cement Work. 
6 tamping tools, for Dwight School Cement Work. 
350 blackboard erasers. 
18 clips polished and lacquered for paper files sent to Christopher 
Gibson School. 

Hook made for cabinet clamps for Prince School. 
3 brackets for Agassiz Prevocational Center. 

Repairs made on guard for circular saw, Agassiz Prevocational 
Center. 

Nut made, with chain and lock pin. 

Completed the installation of the apparatus for the Montessori 
class at the Andrews School. The boys cut off some old brack- 
ets provided by the Assistant Director of Manual Arts, bored 
the holes to fit 1 in. pipe (second-hand), scraped off the rust, 
and painted pipe and screwed it on the wall. It was necessary 
first to fasten some boards on wall to secure the brackets. 
Tops were made and put on two cabinets; also hooks were 
made for part of apparatus. 

Repaired floor in one of the rooms of Quincy School, laying 3 
new boards, and changing position of desks. 

In the spring of 1913, we made 16 adjustable devices for opening 
and closing the windows in the open-air class, Quincy School. 

Repaired fire escape door several times. 

Painted platform scales for the school nurse. 

Made box for school graphonola. 

Repaired vise handles and benches in Quincy Manual-Training 
Room. 

Repaired lock for cabinet in Room 1, Quincy School. 

Fitted and screwed name plate on flagpole for Quincy School 
Hall. 

Adjusted and repaired ten desks and chairs at Pierpont School. 

Repaired teacher's swivel chair. 

Repaired and adjusted 29 desks and 35 chairs, Quincy School. 

Repaired maps, bells, locks for closets, toilet and outside door. 

Painted 4 dozen old coat -hangers from Schoolhouse Commission 
Storehouse for use in Quincy School Prevocational toolroom 
and academic room. 

(The above is a very small percentage of the work of a 
similar nature done at the Quincy School.) 

Repaired and maintained equipment of toolroom and machinery 
in Quincy Prevocational Center during the past school year: — 

Made new lathe center. 



206 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Made 12 cold chisels. 
Made countersinks. 
Made screw-drivers and scrapers. 
Repaired oil cans. 

Made bolts and straps for planes, repaired large drill press, made 
2 face plates for engine lathes, etc. 

Estimated value of above work $515.13 

Job tickets are now used for repair work done by boys in 
the school buildings. These tickets show the actual amount of 
time spent on each job. 

Forty boys have made for themselves small hammers and 
screw-drivers, valued at 350 and 250 each, respectively. 
Size of class — 55 (3 divisions). 
Average age — 15 years. 

Lyceum Hall Center 

Equipment: Woodworking Shop 

Sixteen cabinet benches with rapid action vises. Each bench 
equipped with — 

1 iron jack plane. 1 18 in. steel rule. 

1 block plane. 1 hammer. 

1 try-square. 1 saw (hand). 

1 knife. 1 back saw. 

1 spokeshave. 1 bit brace. 

1 gauge. 1 bench hook. 

1 file. 1 brush. 

1 screw-driver. 1 pencil. 

The general tools: Drills and auger bits, countersinks, files, gouges, 
chisels, bradawls, scratch awls, etc. 

Machines : A power saw and the prospect of a jointer and a turning 
lathe in the near future. 

Output 

Arrangement of benches and fastening them to floor. 

Building soldering bench in sheet-metal shop and other jobs 
too numerous to mention in that shop and the electrical 
shop. This occupied several weeks at the beginning of the 
work in September. 

A library table for the corridor in the upper hall. 

Bookcase in academic room connected with cabinet-making shop. 

Tool racks. 

Mail box for Department of Manual Arts. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 207 

50 boxes for delivery of manual-training supplies. 
100 bench hooks. 

1 cabinet for U. S. Grant Prevocational Center. 

4 manual-training equipment boxes. 
10 alphabet boxes. 

1 oak desk attachment. 
50 test-tube racks. 

48 samples of stain on oak and whitewood. 
200 basket bottoms. 

2 boxes with 9 compartments, 6 in. square. 
1 stand for Mather School. 

1 table for office of Mather School. 
1 table for Dillaway School Suite. 

1 dressing-table for Dillaway School Suite. 

A great deal of work was done in the school. The boys in wood- 
working took up their seats and desks from one room and 
put them down in another room upstairs now occupied by the 
class in woodworking. 

Each boy was allowed 20 per cent of the time for his (Grade 
VIII) work and each had a piece of furniture to take home 
at the end of the year: bookcases, Morris chairs, telephone 
tables, writing-tables. Seats with reed tops were among the 
models made, not one valued at less than $4 and on up to $15. 

We are in a position to do much more work in 1914-15 because 
the rooms are now well fitted up and we can begin at the open- 
ing of school on order work. 

Estimated value of the foregoing work $397.40 

Size of class — 41 boys (3 divisions). 

Average age — 14 years, 7 months. 

Equipment: Sheet-Metal Room 

2 dozen cold chisels \ in. 12 punches, cupped, 2 each \ in., 
4 dozen drawing compasses. f in., \ in., f in., 1 in., \\ in. 
4 dozen drawing pencils. 2 dozen punches, solid. 

15 drawing spacers. 1 rasp. 

4 dozen erasers. 12 rivet sets, No. 7 and no. 8. 
15 extension bars. 48 rules, 12 in. flat. 

2 dozen files 8 in. flat. 1 dozen scrapers. 

5 groovers — ^ in., ^ in., \ in., 1 screw-driver. 

| in., ^ in. 12 steel squares, 24 in. 

2 8 in. hack saws. 15 T squares, 30 in. 

1 hammer — heavy. 1 pair trammel points. 

4 hammers — raising, 2 large; 3 pairs plyers — cutting. 

2 small. 3 pairs plyers — round-nose. 



208 



FREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 
X 8 in. 



6 lead cakes 4 in 
1 wire-cutter. 

Bench tools — 

15 pairs no. 9 straight snips. 

15 pairs no. 9 circular snips. 

15 riveting-hammers, no. 5. 

15 2 in. mallets. 

15 pairs flat pliers, 5 in. 

15 scratch awls. 

15 Stanley no. 68 2 ft. rules. 

15 small squares, 8 in. X 6 in. 

1 6 in. Coes monkey-wrench. 

1 10 in. Coes monkey-wrench. 

4 soldering pans no. 6. 

£ dozen 1| lb. solder coppers. 

£ dozen 2 lb. solder coppers. 

1 dozen solder copper handles. 

1 Stubb wire gauge. 

1 plumbers' solder crucible. 

1 small ladle. 

1 square pan swage, no. 121. 

1 millers' square pan-former, 
no. 499. 

1 blackboard compass. 

3 blackboard triangles, 1 each, 
45°. 30°, 60°. 



4 dozen triangles, 45°, 7 in. 

4 dozen triangles, 30° X 60°, 9 in. 



1 cornice brake, 48 in. long. 
1 square shear, 36 in. 
1 tin folder, 20 in. 
1 former or roller, 30 in. 

1 small sheading machine and 

stand, no. 4. 

2 wiring machines. 

2 large turning machines. 
2 small turning machines. 
2 large burring machines. 
2 small burring machines. 
1 blowhorn stake. 
1 beakhorn stake, no. 2. 
1 creasing stake. 

1 coppersmith's stake. 

2 7 in. Hatchett stakes. 

1 double seaming stake. 

2 square stakes. 

1 round-head stake. 
4 Niagara stands. 

2 no. 11 hollow mandrels. 

2 4| in. vises. 

3 no. 2 bench plates. 



Output 

Setting up benches and machines and erecting firepot bench. 

Fitting and setting hood over motor in cabinet room. 

Drip pan for squaring shears in sheet-metal room. 

Gas stove pan for Lyceum Hall. 

Register damper for classroom. 

Large garbage pail for Lyceum Hall. 

Covering bench at E. Greenwood. 
6 blueprint cases for Dorchester High School. 
3 galv. iron drip pans for Schoolhouse Custodian. 
2 galv. iron filing-cases for Department of Manual Arts. 

Covering long bench in electrical room, Lyceum Hall. 
2 emery wheel guards for Quincy Prevocational Center. 

Sign for Lyceum Hall sheet-metal room. 
36 ink-fillers for Mather School. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 209 

45 garbage pails with strainers. 
40 ice-chest drip pans. 

8 flowerboxes with pans for classrooms. 
40 hanging conical flowerpots. 
40 ventilators, 4 in. 

8 umbrella stand drip pans for Hyde Park High School. 
40 fire pots. 

40 combination measure and funnel. 
45 waste cans. 

Screw tray for Lyceum Hall electrical room. 
Repairing bench at Jefferson School. 

1 auto tire tester. 
24 shellac cans. 

3 galv. iron plates, asbestos-lined, for Agassiz Prevocational Center. 
40 small flower watering pots, capacity 2 quarts. 
40 large flower watering pots, capacity 2 gallons. 
40 mooring cans. 

45 sets U.S. standard measures, 6 measures to a set. 
90 scoops. 
45 small funnels. 
45 large funnels. 
45 sugar caddies. 
100 doughnut cutters. 
10 ash-barrel covers. 

2 large scrap barrels. 
1 large garbage can. 

1 large waste can. 

2 auto drip pans for Schoolhouse Commission. 
2 shellac cans. 

Estimated value of above work $426.00 

Size of class — 43 boys (3 divisions). 
Average age — 13 years, 8 months. 



Equipment: Electrical Room 

Benches — 

15 4 ft. sloyd benches, tool equipment — 

l£ in., 3 in., 6 in., "Tuck" screw-drivers. 
1 2 ft. rule. 
1 medium hammer. 
1 6 in. pair side cutting pliers. 
1 pencil. 
1 Walworth hinged vise bench. 
4 4 ft. benches for general work. 



210 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Shop tools — 

3 Millers Falls bit braces. 

6 1^ lb. soldering coppers. 
3 12 in. flat files. 

3 15 in. level and plumbs. 

3 12 in. rat-tail files. 

1 Clayton & Lambert 1 quart gasolene torch. 

1 12 in. high back hack saw. 

3 no. 7 Disston & Sons crosscut saws. 

4 6 in. try squares. 

1 set right and left f in. to 1 in. "Walworth" pipe dies. 

Electrical equipment — 

Holtzer-Cabot motor generator, 110 volts A. C. 

Generator generates from 3 to 15 volts D. C. 
1 motor generator switch board with local power company's 

service, 110 volts and 220 volts A. C. 
1 "Weston" volt-meter, 3 to 150 volts D. C. 
1 "General Electric" volt-meter, 50 to 350 volts A. C. 
1 Mohawk Bell transformer, 110 volts to 6-10-16 volts. 

1 sign lamp transformer, 110 volts to 10 volts. 
40 carbon wet cells. 

8 Samson wet cells. 
50 no. 6 Columbia dry cells. 

7 4 point annunciators. 

10 Western Electrical Company open board battery call tele* 
! phones. 
4 Couch magneto call telephones. 

2 Couch model phones. 

Shop materials and devices — 

Material for the wiring of call-bell circuits. 
For the wiring of electric gas-lighting circuits. 
For elementary electric lighting and switch control. 
For wiring surface the boys built a structure representing the 
first and second floors of a house 27 feet long by 8 feet wide, 
which accommodates fifteen boys: eight boys on the first 
floor and seven on the second. 
Mr. Cole, Wire Commissioner, gave the Lyceum Hall class one 
hundred dollars worth of electrical fittings, including an arc 
lamp, one sign lamp transformer, a display board of cut-outs 
and fuse blocks, and fittings that are of great value in electrical 
construction. With material given to our school by Mr. Cole, 
free of charge, 12 display boards were made for use in shop 
instruction. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 211 

Each boy was given a book containing electrical shop notes on 
"Electrical Work Troubles" compiled by Mr. Moriarty, printed 
by the Prevocational Class in the Lewis, and placed in book 
covers made by the Agassiz, Prevocational Center. 

Electrical display boards — 

Articles Received from 

Condulet fittings Crouse-Hinds Company, Syracuse, N.Y. 

B. X. cable and fittings Sprague Electric Company, New York 
City. 

Carbon products National Carbon Company, Cleveland, 

Ohio. 

Cut-out blocks D. &. W. Fuse Company, New York City. 

Auger bit method of manu- 
facturing Russell Jennings Company. 

Hard rubber Lyceum Hall Prevocational Center. 

Porcelain " 

Enclosed fuses " 

Asbestos and mica " 

Slate 

Weather-proof sockets " 

Outlet boxes " 

W T ire terminals " 

Wire samples " 

Knife switches " 

Permanent magnets " 

Metals used in making elec- 
trical fittings 

Output 

Bell wiring additions and recharging of Lyceum Hall School bell 

batteries. 
Wiring for a double return call bell circuit at the Department of 

Manual Arts. 
Repairing bell at Public Latin School. 
Repairing boiler light, Mather School. 
Repairing doorbell button, John Winthrop School. 
Installing new lighting in the manual-training room, John Winthrop 

School. 
Constructing a three-party telephone line connecting Mather, Old 

Mather, and Lyceum Hall Schools. 
Telephone line connecting the electrical shop with the electrical 

classroom. 
Care of saw motor in woodworking room. 



212 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Estimated value, exclusive of course-work $283.50 

Size of class — 42 boys (3 divisions). 
Average age — 13 years, 9 months. 

Louisville Kentucky 

The Louisville Prevocational School was opened in 
September, 1913, with classes in printing, bookbinding, 
and woodworking, aggregating thirty-two pupils, both 
boys and girls. So great was the interest taken in the 
new work and so numerous the applications for admis- 
sion to the classes, that the Board of Education decided 
to provide more commodious quarters. 

Eighty pupils, forty girls and forty boys, are accom- 
modated in the present plant, and there is a waiting list 
of applicants from which vacancies are promptly filled. 
To the printing, bookbinding, and cabinet-making have 
been added electrical wiring for boys and trade sew- 
ing for girls. The printing, which includes composition, 
proof-reading and presswork, is open to both boys and 
girls. 

The program of the school is planned on a half-time 
shop schedule, with the other half devoted to academic 
work which parallels that of the regular seventh and 
eighth grades. 

Great freedom is given the pupils in their choice of 
shop courses, and opportunities are provided for making 
changes when any good reason develops for doing so. 
As a result their interest in the school is so great that 
many pupils remain after finishing the eighth grade, 
being anxious to continue their chosen work as long as 
home conditions permit. 

The school is not intended for mentally deficient 
pupils, but for those boys and girls whose circumstances 
and conditions are such that they are likely to leave 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 213 

school early. A number of sixth-grade pupils who are 
thirteen years of age have been admitted for various 
reasons, and for this particular group there is always 
an open door. The average age of the pupils is fourteen 
years and eight months, and the average grade is the 
seventh. The size of the classes is limited to sixteen 
pupils, and the shop instructors, with one exception, are 
practical trades people. 

The equipment and product of only the printing-shop 
and bindery will be given. 

' Printing Equipment, September, 1913 

1 10 in. X 15 in. job press, rebuilt, with short ink fountain. 

1 8 in. X 12 in. job press, rebuilt, no fountain (7 X 11). 

2 electric motors, A. C. 110 volt, £ H.P. with starting boxes. 
1 paper cutter, 30 in., rebuilt, lever (25f in.). 

4 extra 10 in. X 15 in. chases (cast iron). 
4 extra 7 in. X 11 in. chases (cast iron). 

1 gas burner, Hickok, with connections. 

2 gluepots, 1 quart double jacket. 

1 font 36 point type, caps and lower case. 



1 


" 


24 


<< 


<< < 


1 


<< 


18 


" 


<« < 


1 


<« 


12 


" 


« << 


1 


u 


10 


" 


«< << 


1 


<( 


8 


« 


" " 


1 


«< 


R 


<< 


« <« 



150 pounds 10 point body type with spaces and quads. 
50 pounds 8 " 

1 type cabinet no. 62 F. T. New Departure, 25 drawers full 

with mortised label-holders. 

2 2 X 12 Buckeye composing sticks. 
6 2X8 

6 2X6 

5 dozen pairs quoins, no. 1 Challenge Hemphill. 

5 keys for above. 

6 tweezers. 

2 dozen gauge pins, spring tongue. 
1 all brass galley, 9 in. X 14 in. 
4 " " " 6 in. X 10 in. 

4 " " " 8| in. X 13 in. 



214 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

4 planers, 3 in. X 6 in. maple. 

1 bellows, small. 

9 line gauge rules, wooden. 

4 proof planers, 3| in. X 8 in. 
1 palette-knife, 6 in., style A. 
1 24 in. X 36 in. imposing stone (no frame). 

10 pounds extra quads, 10 point; 1, 2 and 3 M. 

5 pounds " " 8 " 1, 2 and 3 M. 
1 pair steel roller supporters, 10 in. 

1 " " " " 7 in. 

2 one pint benzine cans, brass safety top Success. 
1 6 point assorted quads and spaces, job fonts 
18 " 
1 10 " 
1 12 " 
1 18 " 
1 36 " 
1 table knife. 

1 no. 4 reglet case, half pica and half nonpareil, 2100 pieces. 
1 case no. 12 labor-saving furniture, 560 pieces with case. 

3 packages metal furniture, 2 X 4 to 2 X 10, 12 pounds. 

3 pound font labor-saving brass rule, ^ point face with face on side 

(2 point rule). 
3 pound font labor-saving brass rule, 1| point face with face on 

side (2 point rule). 
100 pound 2 point leads, labor-saving with lead and slug case. 
3 blue brushes, round no. 5 rubber set Russia. 
1 benzine brush, bristle. 

6 bone folders, 7 in. 

Additional Printing Equipment, September, 191% 

1 job press, 8 in. X 12 in., new C. & P., complete for motor. 
1 electric motor, 110 volts, \ H.P., Kimble. 
3 extra 8 in. X 12 in. chases (cast iron). 

1 type cabinet no. 62 F. T. New Departure, 25 drawers full size 

with mortised label-holders. 

2 palette-knives, 6 in., Style A. 

3 brayers, 6 in. 

1 imposing stone, 24 in. X 36 in., no frame. 

6 pairs steel roller supporters, 8 in. 

1 5 pound font labor-saving brass rule, 2 point with \ point face on 

side. 
1 no. 00 Challenge proof press, 9 in. X 27 in. bed, without stand 

(new or second hand). 
1 font 36 point Author's Old Style. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 



215 



2 fonts 6 point Old Style no. 59 italics. 



2 " 


8 


<< 


" " 59 " 


1 font 


10 


<< 


" " 59 " 


2 fonts 12 


<< 


« « « 59 « 


lfont 


12 


" 


no. 8 Light Copperplate Gothic. 


2 fonts 12 


<< 


" 5 


2 " 


6 


" 


" 3 


lfont 


18 


" 


" 29 Heavy Copperplate Gothic. 


1 " 


12 


« 


« gw « « «« 


2 fonts 


6 


« 


" 24 " 


2 " 


6 


" 


« 22 « 


lfont 


18 


« 


" 79 " " extended 


1 " 


6 


« 


" 74 " " extended 


1 font 


18 


<« 


Shaw Text Series. 


1 " 


12 


«< 


U U M 


1 " 


10 


" 


(< (< « 


1 " 


72 


" 


Delia Robbia. 


1 " 


30 


<< 


<< << 


1 " 


18 


«< 


«< «< 


1 " 


10 


<< 


<< << 


1 " 


72 


" 


assorted spaces and quads, job fonts. 


1 " 


30 


" 


<< << <{ << << « 


4 fonts 18 


«< 


<< « «< «< << << 


7 " 


12 


« 


« « « <« « « 


3 " 


10 


<< 


<« <( «« << «< << 


2 " 


8 


" 


« « << «< «« << 



5 ft. 6 point Border No. 675, B. B. & S. 
5" 6 " " " 691, B. B. &S. 
5" 6 " " " 687, B. B. & S. 

4£ u 12 " " M 1245, B. B. & S. 

3 " 18 " * u 507, B. B. & S. 

1 ornament No. 48029, American Type Foundry. 

4 ornaments No. 42010, American Type Foundry. 

1 ornament No. 34 Kate Greenaway, American Type Foundry. 

1 ornament No. 51 Kate Greenaway, American Type Foundry. 
8 composing sticks, 2 in. X 6 in. "Star" nickel-plated steel. 

6 " " 2 in. X 8 in. 

2 " " 2 in. X 12 in. 



Bookbinding Equipment, September, 1914 

assorted. 



4 shoemaker's hammers. 
8 shoemaker's knives. 
6 pairs shears, 8 in. 



10 dozen needles, 
4 bradawls. 
2 long-bladed knives. 



216 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

6 lithograph stones, 12 in. X 14 in. 3 fonts brass type. 

1 sandstone (whetstone). 1 button-fastener machine. 

1 pair dividers, 8 in. 1 punching machine and 3 dies 

1 round corner gouge. for same. 

1 dozen bone folders. x eyelet punch. 

2 paring knives. 1 back saw. 

1 standing press, 16 in. X 24 in. 2 glue kettles. 

4 brass-bound boards for press. 2 paste pots. 

5 laminated boards. 1 dozen glue and paste brushes, 
1 case gauge. assorted sizes. 

1 backing machine, 24 in. jaws. 1 gas plate. 

1 backing hammer. 1 dozen brass edge rulers. 

1 sewing bench from factory. 4 belt punches, assorted sizes. 

6 sewing benches made in school 1 gold cushion, knife, etc., for 

shop. lettering. 

1 lettering pallet. 

The variety possible in printing and bookbinding is 
so great that a detailed statement of all the work done 
cannot well be made here. It should be said, however, 
that much of it is on a commercial basis and all is emi- 
nently practical. An early circular of the school con- 
tains the following statements : — 

Work has been sent to the class by the Board of Education, 
the Parent-Teacher Associations, Social Centers, and many 
philanthropic and civic organizations. The work done for the 
Board of Education and the money received from outside 
jobs are credited to the class on the books of the Board of 
Education. The following is a partial list of the jobs done: — 

Parent-Teacher Association notices, dodgers, tickets, letter- 
heads, envelopes 9,920 

Principal's notices 3,650 

Supervisors' outlines or bulletins 1,250 

Board of Education circulars 30,500 

Consumers' League notices 2,400 

Louisville Educational Association notices and tickets 1,800 

In five months, from September to February 1, the class 
made 91,500 impressions. 

At the end of the job, the job envelopes contain copy, proof, 
revise, pressproof, and finally three copies of the job. On the 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 217 

wall are time-cards showing each child's record upon each 
part of each job. Proof-reading is accentuated for the girls. 
A good proof-reader in Louisville may command from $15 
to $20 a week, and many places are filled by women. High 
upon the walls stands a time-clock, by means of which the time 
spent upon each job is computed by the unit system in use 
in factories. 

The printers of the city have taken a generous interest in 
the work. A visiting printer happened to find the shop busy 
turning out an order for twenty-six thousand envelopes for the 
School Children's Thanksgiving Fund. The time-card showed 
fifteen hundred envelopes struck off in an hour and a half. 
The wastebasket showed only nine spoiled envelopes. This 
record for time and waste he declared would stand comparison 
with more experienced labor. 

A few examples of the work done in printing, 
selected from a great variety, are shown (pp. 218-220). 

Bindery jobs 

Theme tablet covers for entire school. Full cloth turned in and lined 
with paper — punched and eyeleted to fit punched tablet. 

End fold notebooks. Newspaper stock — tag-board covers — thread- 
stitched — cloth strip on back of fold. 

Envelopes of various sizes for school use (mailing). 

Advertisement cards — punched and strung. 

Making pads — count, glue, cut apart — wrap in packages. 

Pocket memorandum books. Tag-board cover — thread-stitched — 
cloth strip on back. 

Pass books — full cloth. 

Pass books — full leather. 

Renewable pads — memorandum. 

Paper perforated. Covers made of leather — lettering black or gold. 

P. T. Association programs. Folded, stitched with silk. 

Desk blotter holders — cloth corners. 

Desk blotter holders — leather corners. 

Magazines bound — cut flush. 

Magazines bound — full cloth. 

Portfolios. Full cloth with 3 flaps. 

Leather card cases. Fold in center. Made throughout with paste. 

Scrapbooks — loose leaf. 

Scrapbooks — sewed. 



218 



PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 



LOUISVILLE, KY, 



.191 



M. 



in account with 

PREVOCATIONAL SCHOOL 

8TH AND CHESTNUT STREETS 



MANUAL TRAINING HIGH SCHOOL 

Night School Enrollment Card 



Name. 



Address. 



Occupation. 



Where employed. 



If not now employed. 



Where last employed. 
Course desired 



File. 



For. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 



JOB TICKET 



219 



Date. 



Job No. 



Deliver at. 
Quantity _ 



Description. 
Promised 



Size. 



COMPOSITION 


PRESSWORK 


Compositor 


Hours 


Pnlnr of Tnfc 








Remarks 








Pressman 


Hours 







































PUT COPY, PROOF AND THREE SAMPLES IN TICKET * 
1 The ticket is printed on an envelope. 



CO h- CO 00 CM CO 0)00 CO 00 COCM 

lOO)J-00C\|O)CO0000j- CO I s - 

lO 00 coco J" 1^ COLO O) CO 0)00 

00 J" CM LO O) 1^. tOO) CM CO CMlO 

00 CM 00O) J- CO CMI^O) LO CM I s - 

O) CO coco io oo J-ooco CM I^LO 

O) J- r^OOOOCM OCMI^CO CMCO 

1^ 00 OOlOCOCO CO r^co O) h*0> 

ooi^loooo)cmcoo)J-co r* 3- 

r^LOoor^CMooocMCOoo oo I s * 

h* ooco loco loco lo r- I s - cmo> 

CO I s * 00LO COCM 00 CO 0) 00 041 s * 

cocor^d-J-toj-i^oco oi 

J- CMCO CM 0) LO 00 I s * l0 LO d" CO 

O) CM I s - 00 CM J" LO h-J- O) OO) 

Printed in quantity for arithmetic drill in the schools 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 221 

Loose-leaf post card albums. 

Bill folds — full leather — silk lined. 

Passbooks — bound in leather (tan) — name on front. 

Passbooks — full leather with pencil-holder, pocket and flap with 

button. 
Fancy calendars for holidays. 

Magazine binding — leather back and corners — boards laced on. 
Magazines bound in leather with hand-decorated end sheets. 
Piling cases — full cloth — 3 pockets on each side of fold. 
Circulars — four-page fold, count, wrap. 

The outlook for next year is most promising, when,- 
with a larger building, the enrollment is expected to 
reach one hundred and twenty pupils. 

Kansas City, Missouri 
Lathrop School 

The Lathrop School for Boys, in Kansas City, Mis- 
souri, is open to all boys of the city who have completed 
the fifth grade l in the elementary schools, or who are 
twelve years of age or over. It is a prevocational school 
and intended to offer prevocational experiences in car- 
pentry, shop electricity, plumbing, painting, cabinet- 
making, wood-turning, and printing. 

On entering the school the boys are advised, after con- 
sultation, to enroll in certain classes in which they seem 
to have a desire to work. They are not permitted to 
change their shop subjects until the expiration of ten 
weeks, at which time if they wish they may select some 
other shop. At the end of twenty weeks they are ex- 
pected to change shops, and at the end of one year all 
boys are compelled to change shops for new experiences, 
unless excused for some good and sufficient reason. 

The boys who make the changes every ten weeks are 

1 There are but seven grades in the elementary schools of Kansas 
City. 



222 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

thereby able to obtain experiences in eight different lines 
of shop work during the two years. On an average, each 
boy obtains experiences in three or four of these shop 
courses. Some are in attendance only one year, having 
enrolled at the beginning of the seventh grade. 

On the completion of their course in this school they 
are encouraged to attend the Vocational High School. 
About fifteen boys who graduated from the Lathrop 
School last year are in attendance at this high school. 
The prevocational training given in the Lathrop School 
aids the boys quite materially in "locating" themselves 
at once in the kind of work they expect to follow. It 
also gives them a general hand training and skill in the 
use of tools, which is not noticeable in boys enrolling 
from the other schools. 

At the Lathrop School the boys spend one half the 
time in the shops, and one half in the study of academic 
subjects, including mechanical drawing. 

Details of the equipment and output of the classes in 
wood-turning and cabinet-making only are given here- 
with. 

Equipment of wood-turning shop 

10 benches. 10 chisels, skew, 1 in. 

6 bevels, "T," 3 in. 1 set pattern makers' clamps. 

13 bits, auger. 23 clamps, hand. 

1 bit, expansive. 1 clamp, saw. 

3 braces, ratchet, 5 in. 12 clamps, carriage. 
3 brushes, varnish, 2 in. 6 countersinks. 

10 calipers, 6 in. 10 dividers, wing. 

2 calipers, inside. 2 drills, ^ in. 
10 chisels, \ in. 2 drills, -^ in. 
10 chisels, § in. 2 drills, j% in. 
10 chisels, f in. 2 drills, ^ in. 

10 chisels, 1 in. 3 files, 3-cornered. 

10 chisels, skew, | in. 16 files, 6 in. 

10 chisels, skew, § in. 1 file, flat. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 



1 grindstone. 


3 rasps, flat. 


5 gauges, marking. 


3 rasps, half round. 


10 gouges, I in. 


10 saws, back, 12 in. 


10 gouges, \ in. 


10 saws, crosscut. 


10 gouges, \ in. 


2 saws, keyhole. 


10 round-nose tools, f in. 


10 saws, panel. 


10 round-nose tools, \ in. 


1 saw, band. 


10 parting tools, f in. 


1 saw set. 


1 brazing clamp. 


6 scrapers, cabinet. 


8 extra line centers for lathe. 


10 screw-drivers. 


9 gouges, I in. 


3 spoke-shaves. 


9 gouges, \ in. 


2 squares, framing. 


4 hammers, claw. 


10 squares, "try," iron-stock, 8 in. 


3 knives, draw, 8 in. 


15 stones, oil. 


11 lathes, with equipment. 


10 stones, " slip." 


10 mallets, wooden. 


1 emery dresser. 


5 nail sets. 


4 rivet hammers. 


10 oilers, tin. 


6 pattern knives. 


6 planes, block. 


1 wood trimmer. 


1 plane, circular. 


6 band saws. 


10 planes, jack, iron, 14 in. 


1 pair brazing tongs. 


2 planes, smoothing, iron, 7 in. 


1 glue cooker. 


1 pliers. 




Output of wood-turning shop 


Project 


Made for Co * °! , Ma ; kd 
material value 



11 dozen old dumb bells re- 

turned 
24 indoor ball bats 

12 outdoor ball bats 

21 pair f lb. Indian clubs 
21 pair 1 lb. Indian clubs 
18 pair 1 lb. Indian clubs 
6 pair lj lb. Indian clubs 
2 dozen 3^ X 6 in. mallets 
24 chisel handles 
20 stools, poplar (3 24 in. and 
17 18 in. high) 

1 oak stool, 26 in. high 
18 oak stools, 24 in. high 

18 oak stools, 18 in. high 

2 oak stools, 28 in. high 

19 stools, gum (3 24 in. and 

16 18 in. high) 



Supply Department 



224 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Project Made for Co8 4 to /, Ma ** 

material value 

8 oak stools (2 24 in. and 

6 18 in. high) Supply Department 

12 pair calisthenics rings 

6f in. 
6 dozen old Indian clubs, 
refinished 
500 7-16 dowels 

1 dozen file handles " " 

4 hammer handles " 

6 dozen pair Indian clubs 
15 in. 
336 old dumb bells, refinished " " 

1| dozen mallets 
48 chisel handles 

20 duck pins Play-Room, Lathrop School 

10 stools (4 18 in. and 6 

24 in. high) Supply Department 

104 dumb bells 

114 old dumb bells, refinished " 
100 old Indian clubs, refin- 
ished 
158 Indian clubs 
26 mallets 

62 calisthenics rings " 

24 chisel handles 

18 hammer handles Central High School 

70 stools, 18 in. high Supply Department 

96 dumb bells 
14 hammer handles 
48 calisthenics rings 
650 dowel pins Manual-Training High School 

184 Indian clubs Supply Department 

12 dozen chisel handles " 

40 stools 

Total $159.95 $315.15 

Equipment of cabinet shop 

12 benches — double. 3 braces — ratchet, 8 in. 

8 bevels — " T, " 3 in. 18 brushes — desk. 

30 bits — auger. 42 chisels — \ in. 

1 bit — extension. 38 chisels — \ in. 

2 bits — screw-driver. 33 chisels — | in. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 



4 chisels — 1 j in. 

3 clamps — carriage. 
12 clamps — hand. 

1 clamp — saw. 

4 clamps — 4 ft. carpenter's. 
4 clamps — 4 ft. wooden. 

4 countersinks. 
8 wing dividers. 

2 drills — T % in. 

5 drills — j in. 

5 drills — -jffc in. 

6 drills — | in. 
1 emery wheel. 

12 files — mill. 

6 gauges — marking. 
12 hammers — claw. 

1 hatchet — shingle. 
24 plane bits — no. 5 jack. 

1 dowel plate. 

2 gluepots. 
1 stone, oil. 

1 knife, draw — 8 in. 
16 knives — chip carving. 
24 mallets — wooden. 



1 miter box and saw. 

2 nail sets. 

1 oiler — tin. 

2 planes — block. 

23 planes — jack, iron, 14 in. 

1 plane — jointer. 
10 planes — smoothing, iron, 7 in. 

1 pliers. 

8 rasps — half round. 
6 rules — 2 ft. 
8 saws — back, 12 in. 
4 saws — cross cut. 

2 saws — keyhole. 
10 saws — panel. 

4 saws — rip. 

1 saw — turning, 14 in. 

1 saw set. 

3 scrapers — cabinet. 
8 screw-drivers. 

1 spoke-shave. 
1 square — framing. 
8 squares — steel no. 12. 
1 square — try, Woodstock, 12 in. 
22 squares — try, iron stock, 8 in. 



Project 



Output of cabinet shop 

Made for 



Cost of 
material 



Market 
value 



49 primary tables Supply Department 

17 drawing tables Irving School 

25 6 ft. step ladders Supply Department 

Repairing 1 4 stools Printing Shop, Lathrop School 
1 set of school bank fixtures Ashland School 
12 primary tables 

Total $49.03 $127.90 

1914 Summer Class constructed one two-room school 

annex building (material and labor) $2286.83 $2600.00 



The classes in the wood-turning shop average 21 
pupils, and in the cabinet shop, 24. They average 14 
years and 9 months and are about evenly distributed 
between the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades. 



226 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Prevocational Department, 
The Albert G. Lane Technical High School, Chicago 

The distinctive feature of the organization of prevo- 
cational work in Chicago, as was noted in chapter IV, 1 
is that the pupils have the unusual advantage of using 
the same buildings and much of the same equipment as 
regularly enrolled pupils of the technical high schools. 
In the Albert G. Lane Technical High School, nearly 
three hundred prevocational boys receive instruction 
during the year. They rank as sixth, seventh, and 
eighth grade pupils, but individuals are frequently found 
in one or more of the regular high-school classes, even 
before they complete the elementary-school work, as 
many of the boys do eventually, receiving diplomas 
and enrolling as high-school students in all their subjects. 
The plan preeminently encourages individual progress, 
which makes it difficult to describe in detail the work of 
the whole group. This is true of the shopwork subjects, 
and, if one were to set forth in detail the remarkable 
opportunities for technical training open to these pre- 
cational classes, it would be necessary to give a com- 
plete inventory of the equipment of all the shops. Such 
an inventory will not be given here, but a few of the 
exceptional features will be mentioned as indicative of 
the atmosphere which pervades the school life of these 
boys. 

In addition to the usual woodworking, forge, foun- 
dry, and machine-shop equipment of most well-planned 

1 Prevocational classes are cared for in the four technical high 
schools for boys and in the Lucy Flower Technical High School for 
girls. In addition to this there are classes of a somewhat similar nature 
in sixteen of the elementary schools of Chicago. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 227 

technical high schools, the Lane Technical High School 
has an elaborate printing-plant, including a number 4 
cylinder press, two linotype machines, four monotype 
keyboards and two monotype casting-machines. The 
electrical shop is fitted up for fairly heavy motor work 
at a cost of $12,000. In addition to the usual forges, 
the forge-shop equipment includes a 4 H.P. shears and 
punch, a gas forge, and a 500 pound steam hammer. 
The woodworking shop is liberally supplied with planers, 
band saws and circular saws, while the machine-shop 
equipment is especially elaborate, being valued at 
$60,000. 

It must not be assumed that the entire equipment can 
be placed unreservedly at the disposal of the prevoca- 
tional classes, and that, therefore, the problem of caring 
for these boys is a comparatively easy matter. On the 
contrary, the hospitality is extended to the prevoca- 
tional boys notwithstanding the fact that the Lane 
School is accommodating double the number of pupils 
for which it was originally planned. For example, the 
electrical shop cares for fifty pupils at a time, which is 
twice the number for which the shop was equipped, 
while the machine shop, planned for seventy-two boys, 
at times accommodates as many as one hundred and 
twenty. This crowded condition naturally curtails the 
advantages accorded the prevocational boys, and pre- 
cludes as wide a range in the choice of shops, for entire 
classes, as is desirable. But even with these handicaps 
the shopwork is a success, as is attested by the attend- 
ance and attitude of the pupils themselves. 

The majority of the prevocational boys work in the 
forge shop, woodworking room, pattern-making shop, 
machine shop, and printing department. 



228 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Brief outlines of typical courses given follow: — 

Forging 

The forge work includes exercises in the processes of forging 
wrought iron and steel, such as: drawing; bending; twisting; 
welding; making and tempering lathe and planer tools and 
chisels. Some work is given also in ornamental forging. 

Among the articles made are : — 

Staples and " S "hooks. Fern stands. 

Twisted gate hooks. Shovels. 

Gate hinges. Tongs. 

Links,'ring and hooks for chain. "Pushmobiles." 
Bicycle stands. 

Woodworking 

Joinery and simple cabinet-making, involving elementary 
tool practice and resulting in such articles as : — 

Stools. Umbrella stands. 

Tabarets. Card tables. 

Certain articles for school use are made under the factory 
system of production, which involves the working on such as- 
signments as laying out, finishing, assembling, and checking. 
Practical experience is obtained in the use of woodworking 
machines and labor-saving devices. This results in a working 
knowledge of shop and factory practices. 

Articles like the following for school use are made in quanti- 
ties: 

Bench hooks. 

Boxes for parting sand. 

Oilstone cases. 

In correlation with the wood-turning shop and the foundry, 
cooperative class work is done, from time to time, upon some 
small scientific project like a model for an aeroplane. This 
work ties up with vital out-of-school interests and furnishes 
material for practical problems in mechanics. The inventive 
faculties of individuals find an outlet for expression through 
informal work of this nature, and incentive is furnished for 
practical experiment. 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 229 

The boys in the woodworking class are called upon to make 
general repairs and to do considerable "handy work" of a 
constructive nature around the building, the activities of this 
technical high school providing a large amount of varied and 
valuable work of this character. 

Pattern-making 

The course in pattern-making, while planned to teach the 
principles of the making of wood patterns for castings, is cor- 
related with the work in the machine and electrical shops in 
such a way that the pupils, while making patterns for parts, 
learn considerable about the mechanical principles involved in 
the completed article. 

Work is done on such articles as : — 

Vacuum cleaner. Electric lamp. 

Electric blue-printer. Rheostat. 

Motor headstock lathe. Tuning coil. 

Gas engine. Telegraph sounding coil. 

Shocking coil. Bench lathe. 

Galvanometer block. 

Machine-shop practice 

Work on drill presses, planers, lathes, milling machines and 
boring machines. 

Some of the minor projects made are: — 

Hammer. Marking gauge. 

Depth gauge. Spirit level. 

The principal work of the shop centers around the making 
of the following articles : — 

Woodworking vises. Jack screws. Bench lathes. 

Printing 

Elementary composition. 
Imposition. 

Make-ready on Gordon press. 

Make-ready and feeding on Gordon press and cylinder 
press. 

Simple forms of binding. 



230 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Prevocational pupils work in cooperation with the 
high- school students on such jobs as the following: — 

Announcements, posters, programs and tickets for 

Athletic events. 

Musical and dramatic entertainments. 

Vocational Education Association of the Middle West. 

Educational material for neighboring schools. 
Letter-heads, office blanks, and educational material for 
the Lane School. 
Year-book. 

Monthly magazine (Tech Prep.). 
Daily paper, morning and evening edition. 

As stated before, the conspicuous advantage of the 
Chicago plan lies in the fact that the boys may progress 
as individuals and quite independently of the require- 
ments usually demanded for promotion by classes. In 
the machine shop, which is ordinarily reserved for third- 
year high-school pupils, prevocational boys are working 
successfully with the high-school students. Several are 
being cared for in the freehand drawing department and 
are doing work which compares favorably with that of 
the more advanced students. In the electrical depart- 
ment the wireless operator is a former prevocational 
boy who entered the fourth-year electrical course while 
still in the prevocational department. He is now devot- 
ing most of his time to wireless work and intends to 
adopt it as a profession later. 

Regarding the progress of the pupils as a whole, it is 
with satisfaction that the teachers and the parents of 
these boys bear witness to the fact that it is eminently 
satisfactory, due, they believe, largely to the association 
of the pupils with the high-school spirit, activities, and 
ideals. They seem to lose their identities as "failures," 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 231 

and the high school becomes a real goal, which, they 
are convinced, is possible of attainment because of the 
tangible opportunities which it daily presents. 

DRAWING 

In common with much of the other school work, draw- 
ing should be taught to prevocational classes with full 
recognition of the fact that the pupils have had previous 
instruction in the subject for a period of six or seven 
years. If such instruction has developed or revealed 
marked ability in graphic expression, some arrangement 
should be made, if possible, to give special attention to 
the individual, preferably in some good high-school 
class or classes in drawing and design. Such cases, how- 
ever, will be rare, and the principle of arranging the 
prevocational course in drawing will be relatively simple 
and may be stated as follows. The work in drawing 
should be of such a nature that it will contribute directly 
to the pupil's ability to understand his shopwork better 
and to do it more intelligently. In other words, formal 
instruction in drawing along the traditional lines of 
representation, construction, design, color, and art ap- 
preciation must be abandoned for something more in- 
tensive and more immediately applicable, and the 
particular form of the drawing should be determined 
primarily by the kind of shopwork in which the pupil 
is engaged. 

A class working in the printing-shop or studying sign- 
painting should have the kind of drawing which deals 
with design in the flat or in two dimensions mainly. 
Such drawing would include the study of spacing for 
printing in either book, job, or poster work, freehand 
layouts, the form, proportion, and actual measure- 



232 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

ments of letters, and color as applied to the selection of 
papers and inks. Relatively little attention should be 
given to work in perspective or in constructive draw- 
ing, except such geometrical work as will help the pupil 
in designing and laying out pages, decorative borders 
and job work generally. 

For the machine-shop class little attention need be 
given to design and color, but emphasis should be laid 
on the making and reading of working drawings. Such 
work should include much freehand sketching of details 
both in perspective and in orthographic projection, in- 
volving three-dimension objects. The putting on of 
dimensions is extremely important, as is also the study 
of such geometric drawing as will help the pupil to be 
accurate in his work and to understand more clearly 
the elementary principles of construction and the mech- 
anism of the machine tools which he uses. 

A class in sheet-metal working should be given the 
elements of descriptive geometry, intersection of solids 
and the development of surfaces, while one in electrical 
wiring, carpentry, or plumbing should have, among 
other things, the making and reading of house plans or 
such phases of architectural drawing as will relate most 
closely to the industrial work in which the pupils are 
engaged. 

In all these forms of drawing, however, both freehand 
and mechanical work should be done, and should be 
combined. It is never desirable to confine the work to 
any one line, such as is followed, for example, in the 
traditional course in "mechanical drawing," where a 
line is never drawn without mechanical aid, or the typ- 
ical course in "freehand" drawing, where it is some- 
times considered a technical error to draw anything 



SHOPWORK AND DRAWING 233 

"accurately." The two should go hand in hand, and 
much freehand sketching of working drawings should 
supplement the mechanical work. If mechanical work 
only is done, too little progress can be made because 
such work consumes an extravagant amount of time. 

Above all, it should be remembered, and should be 
made perfectly clear to the pupils, that drawing is the 
language of industry and that the way to learn a lan- 
guage is to use it. Therefore diagrammatic drawing 
should be used constantly by all teachers, especially in 
dealing with anything related to the shop work. It should 
never be overlooked that the ability to employ graphic 
expression is a most important asset to any industrial 
worker. 



IN CONCLUSION 

After all, the criterion by which any school will stand 
approved is the esteem in which it is held by those who, 
as students, come under its influence. 

The prevocational school is a new structure, standing 
upon its own foundations and unbuttressed by tradi- 
tion. Its stability will be assured when those now re- 
ceiving and appreciating its benefits have gone out into 
the world and have borne testimony to its excellence. 

It is now only just rising from its foundations, and the 
children, who are at once its occupants and its builders, 
are those upon whose judgment, at the present time, we 
can most safely rely. The quotations on the following 
pages, taken from the issues of a prevocational journal, 
indicate something of the spirit of these schools and also 
show the regard in which their various activities are held 
by the pupils themselves. 

The hopeful assurance of the youthful contributors 
to The Worhmaster is one of many reasons for the con- 
fidence with which the authors of this book send it forth 
to work for the improvement of educational oppor- 
tunities for children everywhere. 



Illll vPLJ yo-e pUgj 



THE 

WORKMASTER 



IN THE INTEREST OF THE 

PREVOCATIONAL CENTERS OF 

THE BOSTON PUBLIC 

SCHOOLS 



FEBRUARY, 1815 



PUBLISHED BY 

PREVOCATIONAL CLASS IN PRINTING 

LEWIS SCHOOL, ROXBURY 



: ssi 



236 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

We have begun to run the three-horse power electric saw. 
We all must have a permit to run it. This permit is signed by 
our parents, so that if there is any accident, through careless- 
ness on our part, the instructor is not held responsible. If 
orders are disobeyed, the permit is taken away. This is a very 
good rule for our benefit. 

The sheet-metal work has begun in the Sherwin School, 
and has proved a great success. 

Many useful things have already been made by the pupils 
of the Prevocational Class, such as doughnut cutters, boxes, 
funnels, etc. 

We were greatly interested to find how different the stretch- 
out of the models looked from what they did when they were 
made up. 

It is surprising to learn the cost of an article; for instance, 
the doughnut cutter, which one can buy at the store for ten 
cents, costs about one third of a cent for material. 

Morris Cohen did not come back this year. He is working 
in a printing-office in Boston. 

Most of the boys of last year's class are again at school. 
Six have entered the Mechanic Arts High. Martin Taylor, 
captain of the ball team, has entered the sheet-metal class at 
the Boys' Industrial School. Stanley Muir has been employed 
during the vacation at the office of the United Shoe Machinery 
Company, and we were pleased to know that through his 
strict attention to business, he received weekly a dollar more 
than is usually paid for such work. He has entered the Com- 
mercial High and we hope he will continue to make good..) 

A well-known drawing teacher, Miss Cleaves by name, 
addressed the boys on the subject of making explanations 
more plainly by drawing. 

She also told us a true proverb which may teach us not to 
try to know everything. It was, "It takes the whole world 
to know everything." Altogether it was a very helpful talk. 
Most of us learned a good deal and we were grateful to Miss 
Cleaves. 



IN CONCLUSION 237 

One day last week the class went with Mr. Olsen to the 
Gibby Iron Foundry in East Boston. 

The foundry was very interesting, indeed. There are about 
30 or 40 molders, and they were molding a steam boiler front 
in sand. 

Outside in the yard they were breaking up pig iron and 
mixing it with scrap iron before they melted it. We saw them 
make our desk-iron castings that we finish in our school shop. 

The sight of the molten iron as it came from the furnace was 
most wonderful and enjoyable. 

One of the teachers in our school had an old watering-pot 
which she thought was ready for the ash-heap. I took it to the 
shop-room to see what could be done with it. I found holes, 
rust, and dents in the bottom. I took off the bottom, put on 
a new one, hammered the dents from the sides, and put on a 
coat of black paint which made it look like a new one. I re- 
turned it to her and she was much surprised to find that it was 
her old watering-pot which she did not recognize at first. 

On Wednesday afternoon, October 29, the Sheet-Metal 
Class of the Lyceum Hall Prevocational Center visited 
Walker and Pratt's on Union Street. 

We saw some men making furnace pipes and furnace tops 
in cone and flat shapes. Others were making ash-pans to slide 
into the bottom of stoves to catch the dropping ashes. There 
was one man who put aside all his work to show us how they 
did soldering. Mr. De Lappe, who is the head foreman, 
showed us all these things and many other things. 

The work these men do is a great deal harder and heavier 
than what we do in the shop. We have all the machines they 
have except the corrugating machine. 

On Friday afternoon all the prevocational classes of Boston 
gathered at the English High School on Montgomery Street. 
We saw pictures about the history of a book, both old and 
modern, and heard a lecture by Mr. England, the shop in- 
structor of the bookbinding center at the U. S. Grant School. 
We also saw pictures of the Carborundum Company of Niag- 
ara, ffew York, and we heard a talk by one of their salesmen. 



238 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

Our teacher thought that it would be a good idea if we could 
choose our own foreman for the week and one boy thought of 
a way which is as follows : We would elect a committee of three 
(one of them chairman) and their duty is to select a foreman 
each week and if he does not do his duty to discharge him. We 
have had three foremen already and they are doing their duty 
as well as it can be done. 

We are making 800 angle irons for the wooden boxes that 
the boys in Lyceum Hall are making for the supply team. 

In the school on Wednesday the bells were ringing feebly. 
Our section went in the shop on Wednesday afternoon. While 
we were in there our shop teacher, Mr. Moriarty, took two 
boys and told them to go down into the cellar and bring up 
the seven batteries. 

The boys went down into the cellar and took them up to 
the shop. Then the boys took all the carbons out of the bat- 
teries. Our shop teacher called us over and said, "That's the 
way that crystals form on the carbons." The boys took their 
knives and scraped the crystals off and put new salammoniac 
in the jars and new water. Then the boys tested them by put- 
ting a bell on and the bell rang. Then the boys took them 
down into the cellar, and put them where they got them. 

The causes of these crystals being on the carbons was be- 
cause you ring the bells so many times that it wears out the 
zinc. 

I have fifteen books of my own at home that I have bound. 
I started them at home and finished them up in school in 
spare time. Nearly every boy is binding books for himself. 
We did n't have any reading books, so we sent to New York 
for some books and we paid five cents apiece for them. We 
sent for "Jean Valjean," "The Lives of Daniel Webster and 
Henry Clay," and "The Gold Bug." It did n't cost us any. 
thing to bind these books, but if we bind larger books of our 
own it costs us about five cents each. 

We were very glad this morning when we learned that 
Victor Baron had been given permission by Mr. Crawford to 
enter the Boston Industrial School next fall. 

We think he will make a success because he is a good worker. 



IN CONCLUSION 239 

We have just repaired for the nurse's room in our school 
the instrument used in taking the heights of the boys. It is 
composed of an upright about six feet long of one-inch brass 
tubing which is marked off in feet, inches, and eighths. This 
is supported by being set into tripod formed of brass tubing of 
the same size. The part we had to repair was the adjustable 
arm, which is made of aluminum with a hole in one end for the 
upright to pass through. 

Our problem was to bore a new hole, as the old one had 
broken off. As we were without a one-inch drill and our cup 
punch would not cut it, we marked with our wing dividers a 
circle the correct size. Then with a hand drill we bored a num- 
ber of small holes just as close as possible on the inside edge of 
the circle. This being done we cut out with a small chisel the 
metal that remained between the holes. Then with a half- 
round file finished the remaining part so that it would just fit 
over the tube. 

After that we resoldered the old adjustment to the arm 
which gave us the problem of soldering brass to aluminum. 
For this we used Nokorode as a flux. 

The damp weather taught us a good lesson, which is, not 
to scrape the solder so deep when finishing up articles made of 
tin, because they are sure to rust when you expose the iron. 

Tin, you know, or what we call tin, is iron which is dipped 
into tin, which gives it a bright coating. The temptation to 
make our work look neat is very great, so we often scrape too 
closely; but the best way is simply to smooth the surface of 
the solder. 

During the month of April we have made eight drip pans 
of zinc 9| inches square for the Hyde Park High School. In 
return we are to receive 15 hammers and 15 mallet handles 
from their manual training department. 

One of the graduates of our class of June, 1913, is now work- 
ing as a bookbinder in F. J. Barnard & Co., Inc., on Federal 
Street. He was a good worker in school and a good worker in 
the shop. 



240 PREVOCATIONAL EDUCATION 

The work we have done the first half of the year is: Re- 
bound 300 books and 125 pamphlets, 750 Harvard covers, 
2500 stenographers' notebooks, and 325 blocks of paper. 

Mr. Brodhead, the head of the prevocational classes of Bos- 
ton, is going to visit Germany. His intention is to learn the 
custom of the German schools. He will probably stay all sum- 
mer, and we have printed cards in German with his name 
and Boston, Mass., U.S.A., and " Studiendirektor fiir Hand- 
fertigkeitsunterricht" on them. He is going to use the cards 
in Germany. 

The boys of the Lewis School are beginning to form their 
baseball teams for the coming season. We will print the sched- 
ules. 

We received a very fine letter from Mr. Morse, who is the 
Manual Arts Instructor in the West Roxbury High School, 
thanking us for the work we did for him on his staining table. 
This was very kind of him and we appreciate it very much. 

We have lately read in the papers that the stores have taken 
account of stock, so we decided to do the same in the Eliot 
School. We wished to find out how many orders had been 
filled; also how much work we had on hand. 

The following orders were shipped before March 1: 500 
basket bottoms, assorted sizes from 4 in. by 6 in. to 11 in.; 
78 straw-board photo-frames and 1000 splints for the special 
classes; 400 pieces shellacked news-board, 19 in. by 13 in., to 
the clay modeling department; 26 equipment trays and 72 
threaded dowels with 72 wooden nuts tapped to match, to the 
lower grade normal training classes; 5 boxes with hinged 
covers and 48 square plinths, 4 in. by 1 in., to the drawing de- 
partment; 100 topographic cloth-mounted maps of the United 
States to the Normal School; 12 drawer runners to the Quincy 
Prevocational Center; 1000 Harvard covers to the supply 
rooms ; 29 trays to hold bench plans and 47 boxes to hold plane 
irons for our center. 

We have the following orders to fill before school closes: 
96 basket bottoms, 12 photo-frames, 4000 splints, and 150 



IN CONCLUSION 241 

alphabet boxes for the special classes; 3 modeling trays and 
700 busy-work boxes for the lower grade manual training 
classes; 4 boxes with hinge covers, to hold type solids, and 
5 sets of stained wood samples for the drawing department; 
61 maple tool-racks for the manual training classes; 1 lantern 
slide carrying case for Mr. Emerson. 

Mr. Smith, our master, has invited our boys over to the 
hall to tell the boys in the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades in 
the Mather School about the work in the Lyceum Hall Pre- 
vocational Center. 

We boys like this school better than the regular schools and 
shall be glad to tell the boys all we know about the work. 

We have so far made in the shop for the month of March 
the following articles: Ink fillers; garbage pails; waste cans; 
a sign which reads, "Lyceum Hall Prevocational Center"; 
measures ranging from a gill to a gallon. 

We shall be pleased to fill any orders for any schools. 

We have sharpened and repaired scissors, pliers, and shears 
for the Girls' Trade School, and in return they are making us 
some aprons for the shop. 

The other day Mr. Dee, our shop instructor, took five of 
the boys from the eighth grade down to the Practical Arts 
High School (girls) to fix up a little printing-shop for them. 

We fixed the press up and left it ready for use. 

The same afternoon section C went to the Agassiz Museum 
in Cambridge with Miss Neely. 

The boys did not know that any one building could have 
so many different objects of interest in it. We want to go 
there again sometime, and we would like to see the exhibition 
in the Peabody Museum the same day. 



INDEX 



Age of prevocational pupils, 206, 
207, 209, 212, 213, 225. 

Albert G. Lane Technical High 
School, Chicago, Illinois, 23, 59, 
226. 

American Association for Labor 
Legislation, 93. 

American Federation of Labor, 
107, 123. 

Anatomy, 86. 

Arithmetic, account keeping, 189; 
drill tables, 176, 220; purpose of, 
73; problems in machine-shop 
practice, 186; in printing, 188; 
in science, 188; in woodwork- 
ing, 185. 

Ayres, Dr. Leonard P., 40. 

Biology, 137. 

Bobbitt, Professor J. F., 104. 

Bookbinding, 217. 

Bookkeeping, 189. 

Boston, Evening Industrial School, 
22; Industrial School for Boys, 
22; prevocational centers, 21, 
202; prevocational circular, 45; 
Trade School for Girls, 22. 

Business English, 147. 

Cabinetmaking, 225. 

Carlton, Professor Frank Tracy, 

109, 111. 
Characteristics of prevocational 

boys, 4, 10, 58. 
Chemistry, 137. 
Chicago, technical high schools, 

23; prevocational circular, 47. 
Child labor, 88. 

Civics for the worker, 111, 124. 
Classes, siee of, 79, 206, 207, 209, 

212, 213, 225. 
Class organization, 56. 



Class talks, 93, 95. 

Colgate and Company, 90. 

Conclusion, 234. 

Concrete in education, the, 72. 

Continuation schools, lesson from, 
34. 

Correlation, 75; drawing and 
shopwork, 231; English and 
other studies, 161 ; mathematics, 
science and shopwork, 184; sci- 
ence and drawing, 140; shop- 
work and bookwork, 9, 57, 74. 

Cost, per capita, 79. 

Course of study, prevocational, 
4,48,56. 

Dana, John Cotton, 154. 

Death-rate of children, 100. 

Definitions, 25, 28. 

Departmental plan, 55. 

Devine, Dr. Edward T., 96. 

Douglas Commission, 20. 

Drawing, 231; freehand sketch- 
ing, 232; mechanical, 232. 

Drill, 74; in arithmetic, 174, 
tables, 176, 220. 

Economic history, 107, 108. 

Economics for industrial schools, 
107. 

Electrical work, 211. 

Employers' Associations, 124. 

English (see also Reading), oral 
and written, 165. 

Equipment of shops, 195; book- 
binding, 215; cabinet shop, 224; 
electrical work, 209; forging, 
198; Lane School, 226; machine 
shop, 203; metal working, 199; 
printing,213; sheet metal work, 
207; wood turning, 222; wood- 
working, 197, 206. 



244 



INDEX 



Fatigue, 90. 
Feudalism, 117. 
Forging, 198. 

Freedom through craftsmanship, 
118. 

Goldmark, Josephine, 90. 
Graded system, the, 39, 53. 
Grammar, 149, 168. 
Greatest Common Divisor, 182. 
Guilds, 119, 123. 

Health of the worker, 84, 93, 

95. 
Heat 143. 

Hendrick,' Burton J., 101. 
High schools, 11, 23, 226. 
History references, 132. 
Home period, 118. 
Home study, 56. 

Indiana, 28; industrial education 
law, interpretation of, 30. 

Industrial education, 3, 16. 

Industrial history, 109. 

Industrial hygiene, 108. 

Industrial Workers of the World, 
124. 

Job ticket, 219. 

Kansas City, Missouri, 221. 
Knights of St. Crispin, 124. 
Knights of Labor, 124. 

Labor unions, 121. 

Lathrop School, Kansas City, 
Missouri, 221. 

Lead poisoning, 95. 

Least Common Multiple, 182. 

Lecture method, 93, 96, 130. 

Library, 164. 

Louisville Prevocational School, 
Louisville, Kentucky, 52, 212. 

Lyceum Hall Prevocational Cen- 
ter, Boston, 206. 

Machine-shop work, 204. 
Manhattan Trade School for 
Girls, 87, 107. 



Mann, Horace, 104. 

Manual training, 20, 76, 194. 

Marshall, Florence M., 87. 

Massachusetts, Industrial Edu- 
cation Law, 26; definitions, 29; 
Douglas Commission, 20; les- 
sons from, 18. 

Mathematics. See Arithmetic. 

McLaughlin, Professor Andrew 
Cunningham, 107. 

Metropolitan Life Insurance 
Company, 90. 

Milwaukee School of Trades, 
197. 

National Safety Council, 89. 

National Society for the Promo- 
tion of Industrial Education, 
41. 

Notebooks, 131,138, 139, 142, 166; 
loose-leaf system, 78. 

Organized labor, 111, 120. 

Parental responsibility, 13, 38. 
Pattern-making, 229. 
Penmanship, 166. 
Percentage, 182. 
Physics, 137. 
Physiology, 86. 

Population, significance of den- 
sity of, 27. 
Printing, 216, 229. 
Public health, 96. 
Pure Food Law, 101. • 

Quincy Prevocational Center, 
Boston, 203. 

Readers, supplementary, 159. 

Reading, for entertainment, 153, 
169; for information, 161; habit, 
150, 154; material, 152, 156, 
160; oral, 165, 168. 

Retardation, causes for, 37, 63. 

Richards, Ellen H., 191. 

Richmond, Virginia, Survey, 41. 

Ritchie, John W., 85. 

Robinson, Professor James Har- 
vey, 104. 



INDEX 



245 



"Safety first" movement, 88, 92, 
127. 

Sandiford, Dr. Peter, 86. 

Sanitol Education Company, 89. 

School day, length of, 56. 

Seattle, prevocational circular, 48. 

Secondary education, 11. 

Selection of prevocational chil- 
dren, 43, 52. 

Sheet-metal work, 208. 

Shop work, 76; examples of pre- 
vocational, 201; nature of, 194; 
time allotted to, 195. 

Slavery, 110, 115, 119. 

Smoke laws, 125. 

Spelling, 166. 

State aid, 22, 26, 32. 

Subject-matter, 70; sources of, 
77. 

Subnormals, 10, 37. 

Survey, 36, 41; educational, 37, 
39, 53, 55; industrial, 40; so- 
cial, 38. 

Teachers, characteristics of, 55, 
80, 82; characteristics of Eng- 
lish, 161; of shopwork, 56, 199; 
selection and training of shop- 
work, 200; selection of, 55. 

Terrill, Bertha M., 190. 



Textbooks, 76; history, 105, 112; 

hygiene, 91; mathematics, 180; 

science, 138. 
Time, distribution of, 45, 49, 78, 

222. 
Tolman, William H., 85. 
Trade material for reading, 152, 

158. 
Trade unions, 121. 

Unions, labor, 121; trade, 121. 
United States history, 111. 
University of Chicago, the, 59. 
Utility, of arithmetic, 180; of 

books, 163, 165; of physiology, 

84; of science, 180. 

Vocational education, 3. 

Wage slavery, 120. 

Wisconsin's continuation schools, 

34. 
Wood-turning, 223. 
Woodworking, 206, 228. 
Word study, 166. 
Work, in praise of, 170. 
*' Workmaster, The," extracts 

from, 235. 
Workmen's Compensation Law, 

88, 92, 102, 128. 



